Editorial

‘Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you’, 1 Pet. 5. 7.
As Peter encourages his trial-burdened readers to cast ‘all your care upon’ God, there are some interesting and simple points to note.
Note well who it is that Peter is encouraging his readers to cast their care upon; God – the Supreme Being! The One who is, and always will be above all. The One who is worthy of trusting with our cares. The One who has ‘the mighty hand’ and is capable of carrying our cares, v. 6. As always in the Christian experience, it is vitally important for us to get a good grasp, from the scriptures, of the nature and character of our God – the only true God – the One whom the angel described as ‘God with us’, and of whom Paul could say that he aspired to ‘know him’. If we are to implement the injunction of Peter, we would do well to explore and learn more about Him from the scriptures which speak of Him, for the more we know Him, the easier it will be to trust Him.
Note also how we are to act – ‘cast’. The idea in the word is to ‘give up’ or ‘lay upon’. Scripture is the best interpreter of scripture, and the idea can be seen in the other occurrence of the word in the New Testament in Luke chapter 19 verse 35. The loosed colt, which was brought to the Lord Jesus, had garments of the disciples cast upon it. I guess it would have been rather strange if the owners of these garments, having laid them on the beast, then immediately took them back and put them on their own back. Yet how often do we do just that with the cares we are enjoined to ‘cast upon’ God?
Note further what we are to cast – all your care. How often do we miss out on a blessing by half-hearted obedience? O the richness of the extent of the grace of God! One dear saint used to encourage us by reminding us that there isn’t anything that you can’t take to the Lord, since He already knows all about it anyway!
Finally note why – ‘he careth for you’. Maybe we miss the thrust of this beautiful verse when we simply state ‘for it matters to Him about you’. Of course, that is true, but surely the One, who, while down here amongst His earthly people carried their sorrows, their sadness and their anxieties, is the same One who carries the cares of His precious children today. Why carry what He will carry? Trust Him. Be low in His presence, rid ourselves of any self-exalting pride that often hides in self-sufficiency and, as the Spirit of God has promised through Peter, ‘He will lift you up in due time’.
Once again it is our prayer that, as the articles in this magazine are read, they will be a blessing, stimulate worship, provoke deeper devotion and, above all, bring glory to our God. As a committee, we would express our thanks to those who have contributed to this issue and over the course of the past year.