The Wisdom of Casting All Your Care on Jesus, because No One Understands or Can Help as Much as He Can!

1 Peter 5:7.         Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

Well, thankfully, we finally got some rain early this Sunday morning, for that blessed commodity has been in short supply around here for a while. But though there’s some cloud cover, the sun’s out now, bright and shiny, so we have no excuses for not going to the Lord’s sanctuary to celebrate His day, where we will give thanks and praise and in return receive His strength and grace to handle the upcoming week. 

And today we’ll open our worship with this amazing but rather appropriate song for these trying times. It’s titled ‘No One understands like Jesus!’ and was written by one John Willard Peterson (1921-2006), an ex-Air Force pilot, who later attended the Moody Bible Institute, and served on their radio staff for several years. He was a well known gospel music writer and musician, and penned this hymn after a very disappointing and frustrating situation. 

Apparently, while working at a well-known gospel ministry, and being led to believe he would receive a promotion to a supervisory position, a great joy filled his heart by the challenge and prospect of the new position. However, as so often happens, someone from outside was brought in to fill the position. That obviously caused him much disappointment, but he fought to not become bitter. Then, after spending an evening with the new supervisor, who was unnecessarily and uncharacteristically rude and caustic to him, his hurt became even deeper. 

He says: ‘Later that evening, after returning home, I was sitting in our living room thinking about the events of the past days and about the bitter experiences of that evening. I began to feel very alone and forsaken. Suddenly, I sensed the presence of the Lord in an unusual way and my mind was diverted from my difficulties to His faithfulness and sufficiency. Soon the thought occurred to me that He fully understood and sympathized with my situation–in fact, no one could ever completely understand or care as did He. 

Before long, the idea for the song came and I began to write. “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you” (Ps. 55:22). And Peter, who witnessed the perfidy of Judas, echoed his words: “Casting all your care [anxiety] upon Him, for He cares [is deeply concerned] for you” (I Pet. 5:7). Discouragement gripped him. He felt alone and forsaken, and was tempted to become bitter, until he began thinking about the great compassion of the Lord. Who cares? He does!’ And that’s the gospel truth my people! The Lord cares for each and every one of His creations, without partiality! 

And having heard the story behind the song, let’s offer it up with sacrifices of praise, in a soulful, sincere, heartfelt rendition. Singing: ‘No one understands like Jesus. He’s a friend beyond compare; Meet Him at the throne of mercy; He is waiting for you there. (Chorus: No one understands like Jesus When the days are dark and grim; No one is so near, so dear as Jesus– Cast your ev’ry care on Him!) No one understands like Jesus; Ev’ry woe He sees and feels; Tenderly He whispers comfort, And the broken heart He heals. (Chorus) 

No one understands like Jesus When the foes of life assail; You should never be discouraged; Jesus cares and will not fail! (Chorus) No one understands like Jesus When you falter on the way; Tho’ you fail Him, sadly fail Him, He will pardon you today. (Chorus: No one understands like Jesus When the days are dark and grim; No one is so near, so dear as Jesus– Cast your ev’ry care on Him!  No one understands like Jesus When the days are dark and grim; No one is so near, so dear as Jesus– Cast your ev’ry care on Him! Cast your every care on Him, Cause no one understands like Jesus.’ 

More gospel truth again my people, NO ONE understands like Jesus! And why is that eh? Because Jesus experienced all the emotions and negative stuff that we experience. As the author of Hebrews writes: ‘Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into (through) the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities (sympathize with our weaknesses); but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly (confidently) unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.’ (Heb. 4:14-16) 

Yes my brethren, Jesus can understand our troubles better than anyone else because He also experienced them. And we know that when you experience something, you are better able to offer help and hope when someone else is going through the same thing. So when disappointment, sorrow or some negative experience occurs in our lives, let’s not allow the devil to steal our joy and make us become bitter and self-pitying, but instead, let’s turn to Jesus, who has experienced it all and truly cares to help us in whatever we’re going through. 

As Bruh David say in Psalm 55: The Plea of the Fearful – ‘Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer (permit) the righteous to be moved (shaken.) (Ps. 55:22) And that’s for certain sure, because Bruh David was not writing from hearsay, but from personal experience. The same goes for Peter when he advises: ‘Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.’ (1 Pet. 5:7) 

Yes friends, those two men of God, fell from grace at certain times in their lives, but then saw the light and repented of their sins, then the grace, mercy and LOVE of God, righted their ships and kept them sailing on a godly course. And if the Lord can do that for them, then He will certainly do the same for us if we place our sincere care and trust in Him. So let’s be wise and sincerely turn to Almighty God today nuh. It’s the best thing that can ever happen to us! Much LOVE!

…regardless of what we do…or what happens to us…God cares…please believe that…it will stand us in good stead…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit   3 July 2022   1 Peter 5:7.

1 Peter 5:7.      Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

It’s come around again friends, the Lord’s Day, that marvellous day called Sunday, where we gather to praise, worship and renew our commitment to Almighty God and receive His awesome renewal of strength and perseverance to face the upcoming week! Wow! No wonder Sunday is indeed the first and best day of the week! Glory Hallelujah! 

And to celebrate today’s praise and worship, we are going to sing a fairly recent composition, written in the mid twentieth century by John Willard Peterson (1921-2006). It’s a song that I truly wish so many more of us would take to heart and sincerely accept by putting its sentiments into action. The song is very appropriately titled: ‘No One understands like Jesus!’ And if that isn’t the gospel truth, then I don’t what is. 

Now here is a li’l background on how the song came about, which I think will endear it to us even more. It seems that Mr. Peterson, the author was at one time employed by a prestigious gospel ministry and was led to believe that an open supervisory position would be offered to him. And according to Mr. Peterson: ‘I was thrilled and challenged by the prospect of a new joy. But I was by-passed, and a man from the outside was brought in to fill the position. There followed days of agonizing heart searching. It was all I could do to keep from becoming bitter.’ 

I guess many of us would react the same way. However, matters got worse when the new supervisor made some hurtful remarks to Mr. Peterson. And he says: ‘Later that evening, after returning home, I was sitting in our living room thinking about the events of the past days and about the bitter experiences of that evening. I began to feel very alone and forsaken. Suddenly, I sensed the presence of the Lord in an unusual way and my mind was diverted from my difficulties to His faithfulness and sufficiency. Soon the thought occurred to me that He fully understood and sympathized with my situation–in fact, no one could ever completely understand or care as did He.’ 

Words of awesome truth my fellow believers!  And soon after that He began to write the song. ‘Discouragement gripped him. He felt alone and forsaken, and was tempted to become bitter, until he began thinking about the great compassion of the Lord. Who cares? HE does!’ Now let’s sing this marvellous, empathetic song in a soulful, mid-tempo, heart-felt version, opening our mouths and hearts, offering up sincere sacrifices of praise to our amazing Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! 

As one sweet sounding, harmonious choir: ‘No one understands like Jesus. He’s a friend beyond compare; Meet Him at the throne of mercy; He is waiting for you there. (Chorus: No one understands like Jesus When the days are dark and grim; No one is so near, so dear as Jesus– Cast your ev’ry care on Him!) No one understands like Jesus; Ev’ry woe He sees and feels; Tenderly He whispers comfort, And the broken heart He heals. (Chorus) No one understands like Jesus When the foes of life assail; You should never be discouraged; Jesus cares and will not fail! (Chorus) 

No one understands like Jesus When you falter on the way; Tho’ you fail Him, sadly fail Him, He will pardon you today. (Chorus: No one understands like Jesus When the days are dark and grim; No one is so near, so dear as Jesus– Cast your ev’ry care on Him!  No one understands like Jesus When the days are dark and grim; No one is so near, so dear as Jesus– Cast your ev’ry care on Him! Cast your every care on Him, Cause no one understands like Jesus.’ 

Oh my people, there is no one in this world who understand like Jesus! Why, you ask?  Because on His earthly sojourn, He underwent, He experienced the trials, temptations and tribulation that mankind suffers every day on this evil and ungodly earth. So, He can indeed empathize with the stuff that we are forced to bear. And when He faced His storms and troubled times, He went to His Father for strength and encouragement, just like He now expects us, His followers to come to Him for compassion and understanding when we are beset by troubles that test our souls and faith. 

And we all know the basic scriptures on which the song is based, beginning with this awesome advice from Psalm 55 – A cry against deceitful friends. Bruh David writes from personal experience: ‘Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer (permit, allow) the righteous to be moved (shaken).’ (Ps. 55:22) Yes my fellow believers, if we cast our burdens on the Lord, He will never allow the enemy to overcome us! And in Psalm 37 – The true state of the wicked – Bruh David again wisely advises us to: ‘Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass.’ (Ps. 37:5) 

Now if that isn’t sufficient proof for you, (smile) then listen to Peter, another recipient of Jesus’ great grace and mercy. He advises us to: ‘Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.’ (1 Pet. 5:6-7) 

Now none of those scriptures could be more explicit than they are. It’s simple: with sincerity and trust, take all your concerns to God, to Christ, who cares ever so deeply for you, otherwise they would not have allowed Jesus’ blood to be shed on the cross for the forgiveness of your sins, and then send His Holy Spirit to indwell us, so that He can lead and guide us on the straight and narrow path that leads to eternal life. 

And I really don’t know what else it will take for us to truly accept that our heavenly Father allowed Christ to die for us because of His deep and abiding LOVE for us nuh. I guess that’s why He gave us free will, so that we could decide to whom we would give our allegiance, to Him or Beelzebub. I can guarantee us one thing though; Satan doesn’t care one iota about us, he only wants us to lose our heavenly destiny and end up with him in Hades, and ultimately in the lake of fire. So, it’s a decision each one of us must make. 

And in closing, let’s remind us that we ought to make the wise choice, choosing life, BEFORE the Lord takes us home, or Jesus comes back the second time, and either scenario could occur at any time. So, the best time to do it is RIGHT NOW! That’s the long and short of the story my people! Much LOVE!

…the wise money is always on Christ…because He first defeated Satan in heaven…and again here on earth…Satan is a loser… why turn to him…

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8​     

Today’s Scrip-Bit   21 November 2021 John 10:11.

John 10:11.     I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

It’s that time again my brethren, Sunday morning, where we gather to worship our wonderful God, to sing His praises, hear His refreshing and enlightening Word, and give Him much thanks for His awesome LOVE and compassion towards us, His most undeserving children. But that’s the kind of God we serve and worship. And today’s opening song is a not so old hymn, (smile) as compared to some others we sing, written by John Willard Peterson (1921-2006), in the early years of his ministry, and aptly titled ‘No One understands like Jesus.’ 

And believe me friends, that’s the indisputable truth! And why shouldn’t it be true eh, since He is God whose thoughts and understanding are incomparable, and when you add the fact that Jesus Himself underwent all the stuff that we go through down here on earth, it certainly adds up to a wealth of understanding. That’s why Hebrews can tell us: ‘For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched (who cannot sympathize) with the feeling of our infirmities (weaknesses); but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly (confidently) unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.’ (Heb. 4:15-16) 

Anyway, enough talk, time to do some singing. And in our usual harmonious and soulful manner let’s offer up our sacrifices of praise to heaven and our marvellous Godhead. ‘No one understands like Jesus. He’s a friend beyond compare; Meet Him at the throne of mercy; He is waiting for you there. (Chorus: No one understands like Jesus When the days are dark and grim; No one is so near, so dear as Jesus– Cast your ev’ry care on Him!) No one understands like Jesus; Ev’ry woe He sees and feels; Tenderly He whispers comfort, And the broken heart He heals. 

(Chorus) No one understands like Jesus When the foes of life assail; You should never be discouraged; Jesus cares and will not fail! (Chorus) No one understands like Jesus When you falter on the way; Tho’ you fail Him, sadly fail Him, He will pardon you today. (Chorus: No one understands like Jesus When the days are dark and grim; No one is so near, so dear as Jesus– Cast your ev’ry care on Him! Cast your every care on Him, Cause no one understands like Jesus.’ 

You can say that again my people: ‘No one understands like Jesus!’ (smile) And there seems to be an interesting and heart-felt story behind the writing of this song, as there usually are behind many of our favourite tunes. Mr. Peterson appears to have been quite involved in Christian music and tells the story thus: ‘”At one time I had a responsible position with a well-known gospel ministry. One day a supervisory position opened up in my department. I was led to believe that I was to be promoted to this position. I was thrilled and challenged by the prospect of a new joy. But I was by-passed, and a man from the outside was brought in to fill the position.  

There followed days of agonizing heart searching. It was all I could do to keep from becoming bitter. One night I had occasion to spend an evening with the man who was brought in for “my” position. For some reason or other, though otherwise a very pleasant fellow, that night he became quite caustic in some of his remarks to me; and I was deeply hurt. Later that evening, after returning home, I was sitting in our living room thinking about the events of the past days and about the bitter experiences of that evening. I began to feel very alone and forsaken. 

Suddenly, I sensed the presence of the Lord in an unusual way and my mind was diverted from my difficulties to His faithfulness and sufficiency. Soon the thought occurred to me that He fully understood and sympathized with my situation–in fact, no one could ever completely understand or care as did He. Before long, the idea for the song came and I began to write. “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you” (Ps. 55:22). 

And Peter, who witnessed the perfidy of Judas, echoed his words: “Casting all your care [anxiety] upon Him, for He cares [is deeply concerned] for you” (I Pet. 5:7). Discouragement gripped him. He felt alone and forsaken, and was tempted to become bitter, until he began thinking about the great compassion of the Lord. Who cares? He does!’ 

Yes friends, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ does care deeply about us, else why would He leave the joys and comforts of heaven and come to earth in human flesh to suffer the humiliation and abuse He did eh? These awesome words of His speak plainly of caring. ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ (Jon 3:16) There was no reason for the Father to do that, except that His LOVE and compassion for us was so great, He couldn’t just allow us to lose our souls and end up in Hades with Beelzebub. 

So Jesus’ coming to earth was all about caring. And the Good Book tells us in so many instances of God’s care and concern for us. Let’s check out a few nuh. Mr. Peterson mentioned a couple. The first one being the words of Bruh David from Psalm 55 – A cry against deceitful friends – where he declares in no uncertain manner: ‘Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer (permit, allow) the righteous to be moved (shaken).’ (Ps. 55:22) and if you are a believer in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, then it’s imperative that you believe those words! 

Then there was Peter, who experienced Judas’ betrayal of Jesus, as well as his own, when he thrice denied knowing Christ, having been forewarned by Christ that he would do it. And when the cock crowed and Jesus looked around at Peter, he must have wished the earth could open up and swallow him, the shame he felt. (Luke 22:55-62) But the Lord not only forgave Peter, but also encouraged him, ‘Feed my sheep.’  (John 21:15-19) And Peter rose to be one of the leaders of the church. 

All of that caring and compassion of Jesus, must have compelled him to write: ‘Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you.’ (1 Pet. 5:6-7) And that’s the gospel truth friends! Peter experienced it, so he could testify to it. Likewise, many of us have also experienced the Lord’s care and compassion in our normal everyday lives, but you know what, in these turbulent and dangerous times we need to seek His care and compassion even more than usual, since the world is in such turmoil. 

And Psalm 37 – the true state of the wicked – has a couple of interesting verses that we should all take hold of. ‘Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass…The steps of a good man are ordered (established) by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.’ (Ps. 37:5, 23-24) 

Oh my fellow believers there’s no doubt whatsoever that Jesus cares for us. How else can you interpret these words of His: ‘I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.’ (John 10:11) My fellow saints, please ponder those words today, and see if they don’t add up to a tender and heartfelt caring on the part of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Much LOVE!

…no one understands…or cares…like Jesus… 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8