Casting

I had written a post a while back entitled “Casting Our Cares” which covered the importance of literally throwing or hurling our cares upon the Lord. This post has recently collided with another post entitled “Testing My Words” in which I shared how God will test us on lessons we have learned. I can do nothing more than laugh at the fact that these two things are having a full out head on collision with one another yet again, and I am quite sure this meeting will not be the last time. I don’t know about you, but I have a tendency to cast with a fishing rod and reel instead of with a ball and glove. If you have read my post entitled “Worry Wart,” then you already know that by nature I wear that badge quite well, but it is one I wish I could simply throw, toss, hurl away and never to have it return. But as I just mentioned, I cast with a rod and reel, so inevitably I end up reeling back in whatever I have thrown out.

In preparation for our Missionary Ambassador position to Liberia, in West Africa, we have sold our house and made the move to live with family. While I have inevitably seen the hand of Christ in every step of the way and by no means doubt the calling, that does not mean it has not riddled my mind with worry over when we are going to get this thing done, and how are we going to finish that thing all before we have to leave. Oh, and did I mention in the tangled mess of worry comes wrapped around haunting thoughts of insecurities? I have had to rehearse time and time again that whom God calls God equips, and “I can do all things through Christ” Philippians 3:13. The scary part is that my efforts to rehearse the truths of God’s word has not hushed the voice of worry that swirls around inside my head. It is all because I have cast with the rod and reel.

Control issues

What exactly is the difference between the rod and reel and the ball and glove when it comes to casting? The biggest and most important difference is whom we allow having control of the end result! When we cast with a rod and reel, no one has to be on the other end because the control is never actually transferred to anyone. We hold the control to reel back into our hands the worry, anxiety, and strife. So in essence, we never actually get rid of the anxiety in the first place. We are still literally attached to it. When we cast with a rod and reel, our hands never actually become empty. We still continue to carry around the burden that we tried to cast away earlier. And whether we realize it or not we will inevitably reel that thing back in because we remain attached to it. On the contrary, when we cast with a ball and glove we transfer the end result to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one on the other end. He is never going to toss back our ball of worry. And therefore, we are left with an empty glove free from the heavy burden of worry.

Two to play that game

Another difference is the fact that with a rod and reel we could play that game of catch all day and all night by ourselves and never need to have a relationship with anyone else. With the ball and glove, it takes two to play that game. We must rely on our relationship with the Lord. In the natural playing, a game of catch is always better when we have a friend. This is what God desires, for us to have fellowship. We are designed to for relationship! We are not to go through this life on a self-reliant basis because all that does is leaves us holding on to the same old worries we had yesterday. But with Jesus, our hands can be free of yesterday’s worries, so when today’s worries come flying out of nowhere, we can be ready to hurl those at the feet of Christ too.

How about you? Have you ever cast your worries with a rod and reel instead of using the ball and glove that the Lord desires?

Lord, help us to get out of this rod and reel mentality of casting and into the ball and glove mode of casting. You desire to have a relationship with us and that is not a possibility when we keep on pulling our worries right back into our laps every time we try to cast them off. Show us exactly what we need to do in order to keep from holding that old fishing rod in our hands. Thank you, Lord, that you care about our worries, anxieties, and troubles. Thank you for desiring to keep them and not give them back to us. We ask this in the precious name of Jesus.