This Rejoice & Praise God Sunday Open Thread, with full respect to those who worship God on the Sabbath, is a place to reaffirm our worship of our Creator, our Father, our King Eternal.

It’s also a place to read, post, and discuss news that is worth knowing and sharing. Please post links to any news stories that you use as sources or quote from.

In the QTree, we’re a friendly and civil lot. We encourage free speech and the open exchange and civil discussion of different ideas. Topics aren’t constrained, and sound logic is highly encouraged, all built on a solid foundation of truth and established facts.

We have a policy of mutual respect, shown by civility. Civility encourages discussions, promotes objectivity and rational thought in discourse, and camaraderie in the participants – characteristics we strive toward in our Q Tree community.

Please show respect and consideration for our fellow QTreepers. Before hitting the “post” button, please proofread your post and make sure you’re addressing the issue only, and not trying to confront the poster. Keep to the topic – avoid “you” and “your”. Here in The Q Tree, personal attacks, name-calling, ridicule, insults, baiting, and other conduct for which a penalty flag would be thrown are VERBOTEN.

In The Q Tree, we’re compatriots, sitting around the campfire, roasting hot dogs, making s’mores, and discussing, agreeing, and disagreeing about whatever interests us. This board will remain a home for those who seek respectful conversations.

Please also consider the Guidelines for posting and discussion printed here: 
https://www.theqtree.com/2019/01/01/dear-maga-open-topic-20190101/

Let Go and Let God? 2

Last week, we saw that “Let go and let God.” doesn’t mean doing nothing, saying nothing, feeling nothing, and simply living, allowing circumstances to roll over us however they may. The Christian life is a very active life, wherein we constantly strive to enter by the narrow gate and follow the narrow path.

However, there is an area of the Christian life where we are definitely called to “Let go and let God”. “Cast your burden on the Lord [release it] and He will sustain and uphold you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken (slip, fall, fail).””Psalm 55:22.

First Peter 5:7, speaking to the humble child of God, relates a wonderful truth: “Casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you”. This completes a thought begun in the previous verses: “All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.’ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time” (1 Peter 5:5–6). We are commanded to humble ourselves in light of who God is. He is God, and we are not. And we trust that God will take care of us. Part of humbling ourselves includes “casting all your cares upon Him.”

We often overestimate our ability and underestimate our inability. Yet the humble recognize that we are not God. God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and able to handle all our cares. As humble persons, we can cast all our cares on Him because we know He cares for us. To “cast” literally means to “throw.” It is from the same Greek word used to describe how the people threw their coats on the colt before Jesus rode it into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday (Luke 19:35). We should not hold onto our cares. Instead, we should throw them to our Father God who cares for us. He has big shoulders; He can handle our burdens.

Cares refer to worries, difficulties and needs of this world, and anxieties. The NLT says to “give all your worries and cares to God,” and the NIV says to “cast all your anxiety on him.” Everything that worries us or weighs us down is to be given to the God who cares so deeply for us. These verses do not promise that God will fix or remove our concerns. Instead, the assurance is in knowing that He cares for us, which is why we can cast our cares on Him. God is trustworthy to handle our cares in the best way. Romans 8:28 tells us that God works all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. We trust that God is able and willing to deal with our cares.

Jesus also invited people to cast their cares on Him: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28–30). Jesus calls us to come to Him and cast our cares or burdens on Him. When we do, the promise is that we will find rest for our souls. The assurance is based on who He is. We can come to Him with any of our concerns in prayer, and, while the burden may still exist, our souls will find rest as we trust in Him to help us carry it and to sustain us through the trial.

Peter’s exhortation to humble ourselves and to cast all our cares on the Lord is a command, not a suggestion. We are commanded to trust in the Lord and not in ourselves (Proverbs 3:5) and to be anxious for nothing (Philippians 4:6). God does not want us to be weighed down by the difficulties and worries of this life. Instead, He cares for us and promises rest for all who come to Him. If we trust that God is in control and able to handle our concerns, then we cast all your cares on Him, regularly giving Him our concerns in prayer and living in the rest He gives.