"Casting All Your Care Upon Him"

Reverend Karren Farley loves the Lord Jesus Christ with all her heart. She was saved at the tender age of 11. Today she serves as the Women’s Ministry Director for the Capital District and the worship leader at her church, the Martinsburg Christian Center where she is an Associate Pastor. Her husband, Dr. Rick Farley, is the Bishop of the Capital District. She has her Master of Ministry degree and is an ordained minister with the Pentecostal Church of God. She has been married to Bishop Farley for 39 years and still madly in love with him. They have four grown children and six grandchildren. She has one grandchild that is in Jesus’ loving care. On June 29, 2008, Karren’s oldest son, Jason, died in a motorcycle accident at 29. She is learning to walk in God’s grace daily since his acccident.

She believes we need to be the light to this world and we need to encourage ourselves in the Lord as David did. No matter what is going on in our life, Jesus Christ is Lord and His love will carry us through and give us the strength we need to face tomorrow.

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

Our son Jason called us at 8 a.m. on June 29, 2008. It was a beautiful
Sunday morning, and he asked if we would watch his 1 year-old son one
more night so he could go on a motorcycle ride with the members of his club,
Shiftn Steel Sport Riderz. Three hours later we were informed that Jason
had been killed in a motorcycle accident. He was only 29 years old. He was
my third child and our first son. Wow, what a nightmare we have been
through since then.

As I was thinking about writing for the Women’s Ministry devotional, I
came across this Scripture, “Casting all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you,”
1 Peter 5:7, NKJV. No matter what we face in life, and when I say no matter what
we face in life, I mean it. NO MATTER WHAT WE FACE IN LIFE, we are to cast
every care upon Him.

Cast means “to fling something down, away.” It means to throw something
away from yourself, usually with force. Whatever the concern we may have,
whether it is spiritual, temporal, great or small, God is concerned. So many times I
have felt like I had no strength to go on, especially around the holidays.

That seems to be the time when the lost, lonely, empty feelings are ever so
strong. I will let my tears come, wipe them and force myself to get busy
doing something to get my mind occupied. I must CAST by force; I have
to throw all my feelings and my loss to my Creator, God. I had to make a choice.
Face depression and go it alone OR take the path that Christ has for me.
By following this Scripture, I have chosen to rise above it.

Sometimes when asked how I am doing, I will say, “Hey, for not using
anti-depression pills, prescription drugs, smoking, nor drinking but going
through grief the natural way, I feel I am doing pretty good.”

Whenever I’m down, He comes along and lets me cast my cares over onto
His shoulders. This lightens my load and allows my feet to stay steady on
the path He has for me. No matter how heavy the weight, He has the
strength to carry it for me. We need to remember that our God cares for us.
Yes, He cares for you so very much. He cares about your distractions,
anxieties, burdens and your fears.

Vineyard has a CD I enjoy; it is entitled “Women In Worship.” The song “I
Receive” has blessed me in my weak moments. I will sometimes stop what I
am doing and just worship the Lord as I play the CD several times and sing
the song. The chorus very simply says, “I receive your love for me.”

We need to receive God’s love for us daily. Let God’s love come in and
touch your heart and soul today and cast all your cares over to Him. That is
my prayer for you this week.