Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7

It was a number of years ago I heard about a woman who was washing dinner dishes.

She got toward the end of the pile, and stopped. She stopped with a coffee cup in her hand, and asked herself, "How many times have I washed this cup?" That question was followed by another. She asked, "Is this all there is to life? Is this who I am?" The lady went to her bedroom, packed a small suitcase with a few of her belongings and, quietly, walked out the front door and without a plan, drove off.

That evening, from an undisclosed location, she called her husband and told him she wasn't coming home. During the next weeks she would occasionally call to check up on her little ones, and her husband assured her he still loved her and wanted her back. She declined. Worry had a stranglehold on her.

Eventually, the husband hired a private investigator to locate his wife. It was easy enough for him to find her. She was holed up in a budget motel in a city about 200 miles away. The husband dropped off the children at grandma's, and went for a drive. He knocked on the door of his wife's room, unsure as to how he might be received.

The door slowly opened; his wife looked at him in silence and then fell, sobbing into his embrace.

Days later he said, "I am glad you're home. I wouldn't change anything. But, I've wondered, when I called you, I told you I loved you, but you wouldn't come home. What changed?"

The wife had known the question would eventually come, and she had her reply. She said, "When you called, I heard words. When you showed up, I knew how much you loved me. You had sought me out; you had come for me."

Has it ever occurred to you that the Lord has done the same for us?

We all have run away from things; we all are worried and afraid. True, the Lord had always told us He loved us, but somehow just words weren't enough for many. Their worries were real and personal and far too close.

This, in part, is why the Lord sent His Son to seek and save the lost -- to bring light to those in darkness, to recall wandering sheep, to share our burdens, and give His life so you and I might be saved.

A real Jesus, a living Jesus told His disciples they could cast their cares upon Him because He cared for them. His life, death and resurrection were undeniable proof of His caring. Now, this day, Jesus says the same to us.

No matter how big is your fear or how long you have been running, Jesus' invitation still stands. He comes, He cares, and He can change your heart and mind so those anxieties are put into a proper perspective.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, Heavenly Father, thank You for loving me not just with words, but with actions as shown in the life of Your Son. May His sacrifice and commitment be motivation for me to respond in faith and cast my anxieties on Him. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

In Christ I remain His servant and yours,

Today's Bible Readings: Proverbs 16-18    Acts 2:22-47

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