Casting your cares; casting yourself on Jesus

Have you ever seen a fisherman casting a large fishing net into the water? If you haven’t, I encourage you to watch videos of people casting their nets. It’s beautiful to watch them skillfully and intentionally cast their nets. It feels freeing, not restrictive. That’s how we must cast our cares on the Lord. Do you need to do this? I’ve needed to do this many, many times. This sounds crazy, but I enjoy doing this (not casting a net, but my cares on the Lord). I throw myself into the water. I cast myself on Jesus. So He meets me where I am, but His kindness leads me away from the old and into the new.

1 Peter 5:7 - “…casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully].

There’s more! The fisherman looks at it through eyes of redemption and purpose. He has no fear of wasting or losing time. He is expecting to pull the net back in and find an abundance of fish. Likewise, when we cast our cares (and ourselves!) on Him, and wait on Him, we are not passively waiting. We are not clueless about what’s going to happen. We wait with purpose, intention and expectation.

In John 21:6, Jesus saw his disciples struggling to catch fish and He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

The best part of this story is beyond them catching an abundance of fish. They recognized that it was the resurrected Jesus who was speaking to them and their hearts were full and impacted by purpose in that moment. Remember, they had been through this before. The first time they met Jesus, He called out to them while they were fishing and invited them to follow Him. He said He would make them fishers of men. Here in John 21, we see that Peter and others returned to their old life after Jesus died. Do you think it’s because they were discouraged? Maybe they felt like sheep without a shepherd. Did they lose sight of purpose? Do you think Peter in particular was disappointed in himself for denying Jesus three times? Didn’t he tell Jesus that he would die for Him? Instead he denied Him. What is the impact of shame in one’s life? In John 21, Jesus appears to them again while they were fishing. This time He was the resurrected one, calling out to them. After they caught an abundance of fish, they came to the shore to find that Jesus had breakfast cooking over the fire for them. If you don’t see the heart of God in this story, you will think that it was only about the miracle of catching fish.

As you cast your net, let it be with the desire and intention to know and see what God will do with it. It’s beyond “I want to be happier.” Our perspective must shift from “I just want a happy day” or “I just want this problem fixed” or even “I want an answer for what I’m praying for!” to this: God, I want you to express yourself in and through me whatever way you want to!

So what you think is spiritual or beneficial may not be in alignment with purpose. The heart of God must manifest in and through us. What measure of God’s heart do you desire to carry?

Every time you see a situation or an issue arise, it’s an opportunity for you to cast that net. Now you have an opportunity to see something happen that only God can do. Surrender is so much easier than control.

So when I pray for someone, I’d be foolish to think that it was about me. I would still be missing it if I thought that it’s only about that person being prayed for. The heart of God is to redeem and make that person whole, not just healed in one way but not another. His heart is for the family that person represents and the generations that will come out of them.