Knee-Jerk Reactions

Okay… be honest with me... how many times have you been outside somewhere, when some little bug unexpectedly lands on your arm… and without thinking you swat it away?

When we lived in the country in North Carolina, going out after dark into our expansive backyard could be quite an adventure, as I never knew what critters, bugs, birds or reptiles might be gracing us with their presence.  This was more prevalent in the hot summer time, but you’d be surprised what can show up in the cold and/or snow!

Just opening the screen door to the deck could be an exciting event, for you always risked things flying into you as you exited the house or uninvited guests flying in before you could slam the door shut!  For a while there, it wasn’t unusual for me to find some of the most interesting bugs hovering around the lamp on the nightstand next to our bed when we would retire for the night.

I finally purchased a fairly expensive LED electronic zapper light for the back deck that made quite a difference in the dusk to dawn traffic around the sliding door!  I didn’t put an expensive bug light on the front porch as we hardly used that door, preferring the kitchen to garage door where I had built a ramp for Piper’s wheel chairs.  The one sort of fun thing about that decision was the joy of watching the beautiful red Cardinals coming up to the front glass storm door each morning and munching on the deceased bugs lying around the porch.

The thought about swatting away bugs from my person, came to mind this morning as I read from I Peter 5:6-7 where Peter encouraged us to, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” (KJV) 

It was the practice of “casting” our cares upon the Lord that got me to thinking during my Bible study time.  The word that the King James Version translates as “casting” means “to throw upon” (Strong’s) and comes from another word that explains this action as “through the idea of a sudden motion, or with a quick toss, and thus differing from a similar word which denotes a deliberate hurl” (Strong’s)

As I thought about it, I came to the conclusion that “casting” as used in this verse, is like an individual who responds to certain stimuli with a quick and almost unplanned or cognitive thought reaction to any care, worry or anxiety that crosses that person’s mind… kind of like what some would term as “a knee-jerk reaction!”

Writingexplained.org describes “a knee-jerk reaction” as “A response that is automatic, rather than carefully thought out.”  I have also heard it explained as a well-trained response.  Therefore, one could see the practice of “casting” every anxious thought, worry or care, as an automatic response that we do… because it is a well-practiced trait inside of us!

A quick definition check on the word “all” in the phrase “casting ALL your care upon Him” accurately describes the amount and frequency of the action that the Apostle Peter is talking about.  Strong’s simply tells us that the word means “the whole.”  Wuest’s Word Studies goes into a little more depth by saying that we must “come to the place where we resolve to cast the whole of all our future worries upon Him.”

In other words, casting ALL of our care, anxiety and worry upon the Lord… and NOT personally receive them… it is an irrevocable decision that we make and then practice until it becomes an unconscious part of who we are!  I always remember a story that Piper told me from her experiences while teaching in a pre-school/daycare here in Broken Arrow when we originally moved out here in 2006.

Having worked with kids and youth in ministry for many years, raising and homeschooling our four kids and her combined five or six years in the Early Childhood Education field, there were certain things that she learned to do… without even thinking about it, when different situations suddenly arose. 

One day when she was still pretty new to the position here, one of their students fell down in the playground, hit her head and started bleeding profusely.  When I picked up Piper after work that day, I was impressed when she said, “you know, I didn’t even think about it, I just automatically put my arm around her to comfort her and quickly applied pressure over the womb to stop the bleeding…” which is exactly what happened.

What was even more impressive to me is that Piper normally didn’t do very well around other people’s blood!  This time though, she never had the time to consider her normal physical reaction to blood.  She simply responded out of her years of experience and training and never gave her normal negative response an opportunity to express itself… it could have been pretty wild scene… if she had turned white as a sheet and passed out next to the little girl… wouldn’t you say!

Worry is an interesting response to the situations of life.  Most of us are taught that it is a normal and even an expected reaction to the events in our lives… some would say that there is something wrong with a person if they don’t demonstrate the symptoms of worry, care or anxiety in their lives.  (Both Piper and I had been accused of that many times!)

But that’s not what the Bible says… right?  I mean… let’s face it, the guy who wrote that verse, the one who was telling his readers to not worry about anything… was the biggest example of flip-flopping back and forth in his emotions, strictly based on what he saw at any given time or because of what people were saying around him.  So, if the Apostle Peter, among all people, could say that living a worry-free life… because we can cast all of our cares upon the Lord… was possible… believe-you-me… IT MUST BE SO!  And it is easy to see that even though he struggled with this throughout most of his recorded life, that he had grown and matured into a strong example of trusting in the Lord… at all times and in any place.

So, what do you think?  Is it possible for you to accomplish this level of worry-free living?  I believe that we can!  But, that is not to say that you won’t be tempted (I could tell you many personal examples that I’ve experienced over the last ten years alone…), but what does Peter tell us to do in those times when the cares of the world are knocking on your front door?

He encourages us to quickly and immediately cast that care upon the Lord.  To take… what some might call a positive knee-jerk reaction and swat that bug of anxiety away from you!

I’ll sometimes physically move my arm like I am casting or throwing a pesty care away from me when they pop up… It may look strange to others… but it helps me to cement the irrevocable decision in my mind and determination!

So, again I ask… What do you think?  It’s a decision that you’ll thank yourself for making, repeatedly through the rest of your life!

Have a great weekend, and as you do… Keep EXPECTING God’s best for your life… and don’t worry about anything as you do!