We Were Created to Cast—Not Carry.

When I was 15, I spent the summer in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan with some friends. They lived less than 300 yards from Lake Michigan and I spent nearly every day at the water either fishing or swimming.

The family I was staying with had a friend who bought a large, old fishing boat that he wanted to fix up and sell. He asked me if I would like to help him with the repairs. Of course, I was more than eager to show my ship building abilities. The day he showed me the partially submerged boat, I told him he should advertise it immediately as a submarine for a quick sale. He didn’t think I was funny.

The main obstacle my friend faced in the repair of the boat was the deck was completely under water. All kidding aside, the owner of the boat handed me a 40-pound anchor and told me to carry it to the front of the boat. He pointed in the direction of the water. Then added, just drop it there to secure our location.

I tightly gripped the 40-pound anchor and began to walk through the nearly knee-high water on the deck. As I took what I thought would be my last step before releasing the anchor, I didn’t realize that I had ran out of deck. My last step was overboard with a 40-pound anchor held tightly in my hands. I sank like a rock.

A gripping fear swept over me that caused me to hold tighter to the very thing that was dragging me down deeper. I was over my head in the cold water of Lake Michigan.

Anyone who has surprisingly gone underwater may relate to this kind of fear. Had I not been holding such a heavy weight, I would have quickly recovered and probably my head would not have gone underwater.

This experience reminds me of another heavy weight that we grab ahold of and refuse to let go. Let’s call these weights burdens or anxiety. Sometimes burdens can take us by surprise and down we go into places of worry and fear.

There is a scripture in 1 Peter 5:7 (NIV) that tells us what we should do with our burdens.

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

It is easy to grab ahold and not let go when fear invades our lives, but we were not made to carry burdens. No…

We were created to cast—not carry.