Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

• 1 Peter 5:7

“Many years ago, shortly after World War II, I was invited to speak in a Japanese church in Tokyo. The nation was still reeling from the impact of the war.
“Because of the language barrier, I decided to give an object lesson. ‘Do you know the feeling when your heart is like a heavy suitcase?’ I asked them.
“The sad-faced people all nodded. They knew the feeling.
“I struggled to lift my heavy suitcase and plop it on the table. I told them how weary I was from traveling the world, carrying that suitcase filled with weighty objects. ‘My heart was like that,’ I said, pointing to the suitcase, ‘until I read 1 Peter 5:7, which reminded me to cast my cares upon the Lord. So I obeyed.’ …
“What about you? Do you unpack your trouble suitcase and hand over your heavy concerns only to pick them back up? If so, ask the Holy Spirit to teach you how to pray and leave those burdens in His faithful care-once and for all.”

• Corrie ten Boom, God is my Hiding Place

“I unpack my burdens and leave my troubles in God’s faithful care – once and for all.”

• Corrie ten Boom, Highlighted Quote

Boilerplate

In this new mini-series, I will be looking at a devotion that is said to be written by Corrie ten Boom.  Really, this devotion is like several that I had read.  They come from the writings of that person.  Thus, the prayers at the end may be the editor’s addition to what Corrie ten Boom actually wrote.

Each of these posts will include the suggested verses to read, a quote from the writing that came from a Corrie ten Boom book (five in all according to the copyright page, but no chapter in the book is given the specific book of origin).  I will also include the highlighted quote, similar to an internet quotation, and I will end with the quoted prayer for that devotion.

Discussion

Tante Corrie may not have been aware, but in the decades since the aftermath of World War II, missionaries to Japan have realized that it was not just a language barrier, but more so, a cultural barrier.  The people that presented the Gospel in Germany were well received after the war, but not so in Japan.  But object lessons as she used with her suitcase can relate, regardless of language.

She went on to take things out of her suitcase.  She would identify things in the suitcase as her companions in the mission field and their concerns.  She picked out something else and said this represented a boy she had talked to the day before and the troubles he had.  She cast each of those cares aside.

The problem was that when we often do that in our prayers, we pick those troubles up and put them back in our suitcase.  She had picked things out of her suitcase that she could leave with them.  If she had randomly picked up her pajamas and shoes, she might have to put them back in her suitcase and the object lesson would be ruined.

But her suitcase was heavy, weighed down by our burdens and troubles.  And too often we pick up the troubles and put them back in the suitcase.  God is willing to deal with them.  They are beyond our ability to handle such troubles, yet we still hang onto them.

Only God can adequately deal with such trouble and all He asks of us is to trust Him.

Closing Prayer

“Father, You are loving and kind. You are willing to take every burden and lighten my load. Give me the strength to lift every concern and lay them at Your feet. Bless me with the grace to leave them there and not circle back to pick them up again. Thank You for Your mercy and compassion. I am grateful that You shouldered my burdens on the cross and have made a way for me to live care free.”

• Corrie ten Boom, God is my Hiding Place (prayer for Day 29, Cast Your Cares)

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.