Cast your cares

We have now come to the most interesting part of the year. Sleep-deprived students stagger through class after class, finishing (or forgetting) research papers and preparing for (or ignoring) final exams. Consumption of coffee and energy drinks greatly increases. Some students have plans for the summer; others aren’t even sure of where they will live. Some are excited. Some are terrified. All are exhausted. I have two words of advice for you. Don’t panic. “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall” (Ps. 55:22). These words were written by David. Yes, the same David who slew Goliath. His story didn’t end with Goliath, or even with Bathsheba. He spent years as an outlaw, living in caves to avoid the murderous intentions of a psychotic monarch. Joab, his top general, was an insubordinate murderer. Michal, his wife, mocked his devotion to God. Absalom, his beloved son, tried to kill him and take his throne. If anyone had it bad, it was David. Yet David didn’t become bitter or doubtful. He didn’t panic. He threw himself into the arms of God, and God did not let him fall. David has been remembered for three thousand years as a man after God’s own heart. Jesus himself was called a “son of David” (Mt. 21:9) and describes himself in the final chapter of the Bible as “the Root and Offspring of David” (Rev. 22:16). David didn’t give up. Neither should we. As we are confronted by exams (some of which are just as daunting as Goliath) and make plans for the summer ahead, we must not make the mistake of thinking we’re all alone. Things may not always work out the way we expect or hope, but God doesn’t make mistakes. If we depend on him, he won’t lead us astray. To use another example, Joseph son of Jacob trusted God. His God led him from the comforts of home to the humiliation and drudgery of slavery in a pagan nation. Yet he trusted God. He refused to sin and went from slavery to imprisonment. He could sink no lower, yet he trusted God. In the end his patient trust brought results: he was exalted from a humble prisoner to the second-most powerful man in the mightiest nation on earth. So wherever God may lead you, don’t panic. Trust him. Cast your cares upon him, and he will not let you fall. And try not to fall asleep during your exams.