Give your cares to Jesus

Have you ever given something to the Lord and then turned right around and took it back? You have given your total being to the Lord, but slowly and surely, a gnawing worry keeps a problem creeping into your mind.

Sometimes we have to fight a thought to hold our ground. The enemy would like nothing better than to use our minds for a battleground.

We are trusting in the Lord or we're not. Either we surrender all to Jesus, or we live our days in torment tossing about in a restless sea.

James 1:5, 6, 7, 8 gives specific instructions for trusting him: "If you want to know what God wants you to do, ask him and he will gladly tell you, for he is always ready to give a bountiful supply of wisdom to all who ask him, he will not resent it. But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to tell you, for a doubtful mind will be as unsettled as a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind; and every decision you then make will be uncertain, as you turn first this way and then that. If you don't ask with faith, don't expect the Lord to give you any solid answer." (The Living Bible Translation)

This life is a fight of faith. At the very onslaught of a troubling thought, I must cast it down. 2 Corinthians 10:5 says "Casing down imaginations, and every high thing that exaleth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ."

I must be the offender, not the defender. I must be aggressive in my thought life. I am waging a war with the enemy of my soul, but that enemy is no match for God's power. God has given me everything that pertains to life and godliness. I don't wrestle against flesh and blood. The battle is in the mind and I must stop negative thoughts. The enemy cannot hang around an empowered believer. You do not have to be the victim. You are the "victor" and you have the armor of God.

"Wherefore take unto you the hold armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand" (Ephesians 6:13).

Employ the weapons and the strength that God has provided for you.

A mind at peace means a healthy body. Anxiety and negative thoughts doesn't make a healthy body. The only way to have a mind at peace is to pull down the enemy's stronghold.

Be the victor today. Give all of your cares to Jesus. Let's give him our cares and leave them there.

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5).

Leaving your burden with the Lord enables you to be free. Trust him. He loves you. He died for you and me.

Is it any wonder they call him "Savior?"

Portales resident Joan Clayton is a retired teacher and published author. Her e-mail address is:

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