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Excerpt from "How to Live a Holy Life - Devotional" by Charles Ebert Orr on - Kindle Now -
.....Life will never be successful, unless we learn that God cares for us. Unless we have faith to know that God is our keeper and that hence we have nothing to fear - we shall never be the cheer and sunlight in this dark world, that God designed us to be.
This is a world of trouble. "Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows!" John 16:33. Sin envelops many souls in awful midnight gloom. Some may never find Jesus - unless they see him smiling in your face. You as God's dear child, are to be a light to those poor, benighted souls. To be such a light, you must be full of light, and to be full of light - you must be full of hope by faith in the cheering and encouraging promises of God. None can be truly happy, none can be the cheer, comfort, and consolation to the world - who are bearing their own burdens. Only those who have learned the sweet lesson of trust in God and know that he cares for them - are truly happy and free and capable of cheering others.
There are many priceless promises in the Word of God. There is a promise for every need, condition, and circumstance of life. Among these blessed promises, here is one that has brought comfort to many a weary pilgrim on life's way: "Casting all your care upon him; for he cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7. If this promise does not lift you far above all the trials, discouragements, and weariness of life - it is because you do not believe it nor understand the fullness of its meaning.
"He cares for you." It is not your neighbor or your friend - but it is you. Cares will come to you, certainly; you could never cast your cares upon God, if you had none. But you have them, and doubtless many of them. The difficulty with many is, they do not cast them on God. Reader, your life will never be, it cannot be, that free, happy, radiant, sunlit, helpful life which pleases God - if you bear your own cares.
There is nothing too trivial in life, to take to God. In the very smallest concerns of your daily life, he has an interest. In everything let your requests be known unto him. Do learn to take everything to him. Fret over nothing, never worry for a moment. Let nothing disturb or disquiet you. I say nothing! "He cares for you." Do you comprehend the full meaning of these words? Think them over for a moment. Let go of yourself - and let God keep you. Oh, the freedom that belongs to the children of God! Theirs is a sweet land of liberty. But alas! how many will go on bearing their own burdens and weighted down with worry, with these words right before them: "He cares for you!" Why not trust him?
Worry is a grace-destroyer. If you would be strong in the grace of God - then you must live free from worry. It gnaws at the very vitals of the soul. A strong cable made of many fine wires was stretched across the river and was used to tow a heavy cargo boat back and forth. One of the small strands was broken. This was thought to be a small matter. Soon another was broken and then another. Still this was not of much consequence. One by one more were broken but unheeded because each was so small. Finally all were broken, and the boat went adrift. A little worry does not seem to be of much consequence. But the Bible says "do not worry about anything," and to "cast all your care upon him."
Some have thought that the bearing of burdens and cares made us strong in the Lord. No, it is the casting of them on Jesus which makes us strong. For a man to be down under a heavy weight is no exercise to his muscles; but to be up on his feet and passing heavy weights on to another - this is exercise. To be down under burdens and cares is no exercise to the soul - but is really death; the passing of the cares on to Jesus is the exercise and the strength of the spiritual powers. If you only knew how much grace little worries destroy - you would quickly cast them on Jesus.
I was asked one time if it was possible to reach an experience where we would never fret or worry. Certainly we can. We shall never get to a place where we shall have notemptations - but we can get to a place where we shall not yield to the temptations. Your life has not reached that degree of perfection that it should, until you have attained to such an experience.......
