Communion

Arthur Pink
 

"Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7

This means just what it says. Christian reader, there ought to be no restraint between you and the Lover of your soul. He would have you be on, and maintain, more intimate terms with Himself, than with any human creature. He is always accessible, and never changes in His feelings toward you. He would have you make Him your "Friend": not only your Counselor, but your Confident—the One into whose ear (and the only one) you are to pour the very secrets of your heart. He would have you be quite artless and natural, just like a little child coming to its mother, pouring into her ear its every little woe, trouble, and disappointment. When harassed by any soul-troubles, such as a feeling of coldness of heart toward Him, burdened about a lack of faith, or because your thoughts so often wander when you try to meditate on Divine things, or in prayers—come to Him, tell Him all about it, unburden yourself to Him: cast "all your care upon Him," keep back nothing. When something has irritated you, disturbed your composure of mind and peace of soul; when someone has said or done something which causes a resentment to rise within you, and you find it hard to forgive them; go and tell the Lord about it: confess to Him that this ought not to be, that you are ashamed of yourself, and ask Him to lay His calming hand upon you, and to give you a forgiving spirit.

Or suppose something in the household arrangements has "gone wrong," something which you could not help: perhaps the milkman or the baker late, or the stove not cooking as you wish, and you are disturbed; go to Him, tell Him about it; cast this "care" upon Him. You can never "weary" the Lord. It is the Christian's holy privilege to cultivate the most familiar converse with Christ. Nothing more honors Him, nothing more delights Him, for this is giving Him His true place in your daily life. The "Christian life" is not the vague and mystical thing which the unsaved deem it to be, and which some preachers have made people think it is. No, it is an intensely practical and blessed thing. It is pride (quite unsuspected) which hinders so many from maintaining this simple and childlike converse and communion with Christ. People are ready to call upon Him when some big thing (as they think it) confronts them, some really urgent need comes up; but the little (?) things they seek to carry and work out themselves. But God's Word says, "in everything by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known unto God" (Philippians 4:6). Above, we have said that it is "pride" which keeps back the Christian from casting all (every) his care upon Christ from casting all (every) his care upon Christ. The proof of this is intimated in the verse immediately preceding (1 Peter 5:7): for there we read, "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time." It is an humbling thing to our haughty flesh, our self- sufficiency, our proud reason, to be made to feel the truth of Christ's words "without Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5)- -acceptably to God. But it is a blessed thing for the heart when we are brought to the place of complete conscious dependency upon the Lord for everything. That is the place of rest, joy, victory. May the Lord be pleased to add His blessing to these few lines.