F.E. Marsh :: 93. Committal

“GLASS, with anxiety!” Strange expression this! What does it mean? These words accompanied a parcel sent from Norway to England, and they were intended to indicate that the sender feared, from the fragile nature of its contents, that some mishap might befall it.

Is there not a lesson here for Christians? Might not some of us be rightly labelled-

“Christians, with anxiety?”

In many instances there is no need for a label, as anxiety is only too plainly stamped upon the countenance, although the apostolic injunction is, “in nothing be anxious” (Phil. 4:6, R.V.). Some obey this command in certain circumstances only, while others reverse the reading, and live as though they were to be anxious for everything. The Lord wishes His children to carry their worries and anxieties to Him; and to leave them with Him. Here are seven things which He bids us cast upon Him, or commit unto Him.

1. Commit yourself unto Him. “He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day” (2 Tim. 1:12). Paul deposited himself in the hands of the Heavenly Banker; and, as the money in the Bank of England is kept safe in the strong rooms within and by the guard without, so was the apostle, for he was kept by the Holy Spirit within, and by the Lord who encamped round about him.
2. Commit your soul unto Him. “Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator” (1 Peter 4:19). Suffering we shall have, but if we commit the keeping of our souls unto the Lord in well doing, as the three Hebrew young men did, we shall, like them, but lose our bonds, and gain the company of Jesus.
3. Commit your spirit unto Him. “Into Thine hand I commit my spirit” (Psalm 31:5). If the Lord has the control of our spirit, He will control us altogether.
4. Commit your way unto Him. “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass” (Psalm 37:5). If we commit our way unto Him, we shall never stray from Him.
5. Commit your works unto Him. “Commit thy works unto the Lord” (Proverbs 16:3). If the Lord controls the works and the workers, there will be no clashing in the working.
6. Commit your burden unto Him. “Cast thy burden upon the Lord” (Psalm 55:22). If the Lord is our Burden-bearer, we shall be free to bear one another’s burdens.
7. Commit your care unto Him. “Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you” (1 Peter 5:7). One John Careless, a martyr, in writing to a friend, said, “Now my soul is turned to her old rest again, and has taken a sweet nap in Christ’s lap. I have cast my care upon the Lord, who careth for me, and will be careless, according to my name.” If we cast all our care upon Him, He will take all care off us.