Today as I was doing my devotional the Lord was really speaking to me. As I began to journal all that He was saying I began to think of you, the mother, children’s pastor, senior pastor, Sunday School teacher, wife, parent, friend, teacher, brother, and the list goes on. I wanted to share these truths with you as well.
My devotional is from the book My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers. There may be a day I do a book review on this devotional but for now, know that I highly recommend it. Every day it speaks life to me and is such a wonderful devotion! (This devotion is taken from April 13th.)
“Cast your burden on the Lord . . .” Psalm 55:22
“If we set out to serve God and do His work but get out of touch with Him, the sense of responsibility we feel will be overwhelming and defeating. But if we will only roll back on God the burdens He has placed on us, He will take away that immense feeling of responsibility, replacing it with an awareness and understanding of Himself and His presence.”
When I read that I underlined ‘understanding’. Every morning I read and pray over myself Psalm 119:33-40. Verse 34 says “Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it will all my heart.” Each day we need to understand who He is, His plans for us, and how to work *with* Him.
Something I emphasize every week to the kids in children’s church is the importance of getting in the Word. Reading your Bible. I’ve said it so many times in other blog posts and I’ll say it again. Get in your Word! How will you fight without a weapon? The Word is your Sword! How will you combat lies from the enemy if you don’t know who you are in Christ? The Word is Truth! Example: How do we know that we can cast our cares on the Lord? Through reading His Word!
“Many servants set out to serve God with great courage and with the right motives. But with no intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ, they are soon defeated. They do not know what to do with their burden, and it produces weariness in their lives.”
“Commit to God whatever burden He has placed on you. Don’t just cast it aside, but put it over onto Him and place yourself there with it.”
Again, something I emphasize is prayer and worship. These three things; reading the Word, prayer, and worship, have been something the Lord told me to emphasize this whole year in children’s church. It’s so important that the kids learn this, have this foundation, yes. But it’s also so important that we learn this, apply it, teach it, and do it! How do we have an intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ? Pray. Talk to Him. How do you get to know a friend, spouse, etc? Talking, building a relationship. The same is true for our relationship with Jesus.
This made me want to just kneel before the Lord, play the song Surrounded (Fight my Battles) and worship. I love to look up the definition of words used, see the meaning, synonym, antonym, and really dig deep into what’s being said.
Battle: sustained fight between large, organized armed forces. Struggle.
Ephesians 6:12 tells us that our battle, struggle, is not against flesh and blood, that we are an armed force. We are fighting against principalities and darkness. Whatever burden, calling, passion, the Lord has given us we can be sure the enemy is going to fight against it, battle against it, struggle with us. It may look and feel like we are surround. We may feel overwhelmed.
We are.
By God.
What cares do you need to cast on the Lord? What struggle are you facing? What battle is raging?
How will fight your battle?
I choose to fight my battles on my knees, surrendered to the Lord, casting it all on Him.
