Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; - Philippians 4v6
There are times and places when I am a big fan of the KJV. Philippians 4v6 is one of those places. I am sad that we have lost this meaning of the word ‘careful’ over the last 400 years. Today careful only means to ‘take care’ in a situation. I wish we had used a word like ‘be caretaking’ instead of robbing this lovely word of what really makes sense.
In 1611, from what I can discover, the word meant exactly what it sound like it should mean – ‘full of care.’ I would like to run a campaign to restore the true meaning of this word. The lesson is clear for us – don’t be so full of cares. I even like how Wycliffe translated this 350 years earlier – ‘be ye nothing bisi.’ The meanings here are obvious, and most of us know the feeling exactly. It normally happens to me in the wee hours of the morning. I wake up and my mind is bisi (busy). All the troubles hit me; bills to pay, my kids, things I have forgotten to do, living in a rented house (can you tell this is issue for me?), what is going to happen here, what is going to happen when 70 or 75, what if I get sick, what was that sound I heard in the car today, etc, etc, etc.
Sometimes these can be helpful because they motivate us to action. But sometimes there are things that we can do nothing at all about. Sometimes we are where we are or in a circumstance that can’t be helped and still the cares grow and dominate our thoughts. I am going to look at this a little more tomorrow, but as for now we have a clear answer – ‘casting all your care on Him, for He cares for you.’ We need not be our own care-bearers, because Christ cares for us! All of our cares, anxieties, fears, and ‘bisiness’ are wasted for we have One who already knows about them all and cares about every situation.
Don’t be careful, cast those cares on Him because He truly does care!
1 comment:
Aye, sure, tis a good verse for me! If I was full of care wouldn't I be giving my problems and concerns to the only One who can do anything about them? No, I hold them tight in my fist and replay them in my mind like a broken record with fear and trepidation. This is crazy because there is One who will take them and weave them for my good, and that promise is so sure that I can hand my cares over with thanksgiving--confident that He's full of care for me and my situation! Good reminder, RP!
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