Lately, I have taken up reading Elizabeth Elliot’s Passion and Purity. After poking through the book a little, I have become amazed to learn of God’s great love and interest for our lives (especially our dreams and hopes for love and marriage). However, what struck me most interesting are the gems I found on page 49. It reads:
“’Cast all your cares on him, for you are his charge.” 1 Peter 5:7 (NEB)
“. . . Have no anxiety, but in everything make your requests known to God. . . .” Philippians 4:6 (NEB)
“. . . I bid you put away anxious thoughts. . . .” Matthew 6:25 (NEB)
merimna—“care, thought, disquietude, trouble.”
merimnao—“be anxious, be cumbered, think earnestly upon.’”
~
I stopped there; once I digested these verses and their Greek wording my heart jumped at a new discovery. Jesus desires for me to cast every “care, thought, disquietude, trouble” upon Him! Glorious! Just this past week I’ve struggled with many a disquieting thought or trouble (often created by my own sinful nature) but I never thought to give them to God. Even more, I allowed deceitful thoughts of “Oh, He won’t help you because, well, you made this mess . . . again” and the like discourage me from approaching the throne of grace. What sweet assurance of God’s love—what mercy!
Any thought, any care God wants me to lay on Him. Those troublesome fears and thoughts on my relative’s upcoming move need to be given up. Worries on whether I’ll be ready for Ghana or not need to be surrendered to Christ. Cumbersome burdens of unconfessed sin need to laid at His feet. Isn’t our God good and gracious? How thankful I am to have such a personal and loving Lord; what a pity it is that millions refuse to serve Him and instead serve impersonal, non-hearing gods of imagination, gold or stone. How sad that many worship and serve their physical bodies and desires only to end up lost, confused and dying. How good my God is.
So, in case you are wondering, I am completely enjoying Passion and Purity. It is such freedom to find that God cares for all things: our love lives (or lack thereof :) and our worrisome thoughts. How merciful He is to want to take control of these issues and lead us in a good way.
With love and blessings!
Frannie
*Only 27 more days till I begin my journey towards Ghana! Eeek! :)
Thank you for sharing another up-lifting post, Frannie. The Lord is so good to us and it's wonderful to have such blessed assurance that He cares and loves us so much!
ReplyDeleteGod bless you.
Thank you for your sweetness! :) It is wonderful to have such a good God!
ReplyDeleteMany blessings!
Frannie
I love this book!! Just finished re-reading it, actually. It teaches me something new each time! She has another great book called, "Let me be a woman". I also very much enjoyed Sarah Mally's "Before you meet prince charming". She did a GREAT job of encouraging women to more in love with their Heavenly lover than any one on earth! :-)
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