Photo via Julie Blount

A beautiful revelation of 1 Peter 5:7 was unveiled recently. I stood with Jesus at the edge of the ocean. It’s no surprise of scenery. I love the ocean and often find landscape near the shore for our meetings in the quiet, Secret Place. He’s taught me so much there. This time we were about to take off running on the water.

The Lord reminded me of the importance of casting my cares aside. You cannot walk on water when you’re weighted down with cares; you’ll sink. And there I was, ready to run. We had previously talked about the weight of cares and I was determined to drop them all. Two fishing rods were on the shore next to our feet. “Cast them out,” He said. Immediately I thought of my book, Lines in the Sand. In one chapter, I share a humorous story about an eventful fishing trip that I’d had with my father, along with my three daughters and my niece. I shared, also, how I like to picture myself casting a fishing line when I think of 1 Peter 5:7.

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

How fitting! The Lord knew this. And He was telling me to cast a line of my cares out into the ocean. The ocean is a beautiful picture of His grace to me. It’s where I’ve seen the waves of grace upon grace, John 1:16, crash over me again and again. I picked up the fishing rod to hook my cares, excited to cast them out into that glorious ocean. I prepared myself to cast those weights, all wild and free. Then Jesus ran out onto the water ahead of me. He stood to face me, arms outstretched, and told me to cast them onto Him. Isn’t that what the Word says? Cast all your care upon him.

An ache settled over me at the thought of this. I knew it was what I had to do; cast the line onto Jesus. Only He was then standing, arms outstretched, the crucified Christ. I could hardly look at Him. The thought of those weights hooking into His Body wrecked me. His Body was already utterly broken and I wondered, will I rend you again with the weight of my cares? Will I rip you all over again? The thought of that hook landing somewhere on my Lord, His Body already so broken, was unbearable. It was a gruesome picture. I could hardly look. I knew I had to do it; but how? How am I going to do this, I thought.

And so I asked, Holy Spirit, help. Holy Spirit immediately wrapped me up and I thought of how The Passion Translation refers to His wrap-around presence over and over again. Here’s one example:

He alone is my safe place; his wrap-around presence always protects me. For he is my champion defender; there’s no risk of failure with God. So why would I let worry paralyze me, even when troubles multiply around me? Psalm 62:2

As Holy Spirit wrapped around me, we moved together, picking up the fishing rod. I thought of Acts 17:28, in him we live and move and have our being. Together, we prepared to cast the line on the Lord Christ. It was difficult to watch. But we cast the line together. The hook went right into the heart of Jesus. Holy Spirit tells me to reel it in. He helps me, His Presence wrapped around me. But I can no longer look out at Jesus, eyes on the line. We reeled in the heart of the Lord.

I had hooked and reeled in the heart of the Lord. As it came in closer, I embraced it and thought of John 14:20. I am in You, You are in me; we are one. I embraced the heart of the Lord Jesus, I embraced His love.

I sensed Holy Spirit compelling me to look up. When I looked up, I could no longer see the crucified Christ. I saw the glorified Christ Jesus standing out on the water. And I ran. I ran out on that water to Jesus. I hugged Him and I thanked Him. He asked me how I felt. I hesitated for just a moment. “Thankful! Lighter. Definitely lighter. And thankful.”

Such a beautiful picture of His love. He took our cares. He took it all on Calvary. No, we do not rend Him anew with our weights. He took our sin, our curse, our all. All of it was put upon His Body. The work is finished. My cares were returned to the place they had belonged all along. His Body. In His Body, He bore our sorrows, our sicknesses, our diseases. He was beaten for our peace. He bled out for our sin, for it all. All. All of our cares.

Walking the ocean’s shore with Jesus is where I’ve seen Him most. The Secret Place. It’s where He’s compelling our hearts to walk with Him in intimacy. He’s calling us to be free and to run with Him out on the ocean’s waves. To walk on grace and to dance on impossibilities.

Grab a pole. Walk with Him on the shore. Cast your cares. And then run with Him wild and free out on the ocean of grace.