There are times in my life when I wonder what in the world God is thinking. Problems, frustrations, delayed dreams and unfulfilled desires play cat and mouse with my mind. I question my purpose and often have to look long and hard to find the things that once affected me so passionately. Uninterrupted time to seek the face of God seems a lost cause and time in the Word is reduced to fragments of stolen time. I feel so distanced from God that I wonder if he remembers me. Were it not for times of collective worship during church services, I could sometimes feel complete alienation. There is no draw toward sin or unseemly desires, just a gnawing, empty loneliness to feel the Lord close at hand - the prompting of the spirit, the whisper of His unexpected presence in the midst of my predictable day.

            “And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.” (Luke 8:14 KJV) 

            It’s not the giant storms that sweep in and knock me off my feet. It’s not the extreme emergencies that require all my time, effort and energy for a season. It’s the everyday call of responsibility that makes me feel like the seed that fell among thorns; my earnest desire to be close God is choked by the cares of life.

             We all have responsibilities, godly responsibilities to our church, our families, our jobs and our communities. With the prevalence of cell phones, “on call” is no longer a shift, but a lifestyle. We lead busy lives with ever increasing demands. Success requires achievement - more training, more money, more education, more time. Our hearts, our hands and our minds become full and we learn to juggle.

            When our spirit cries out, longing for relief, we try to quiet it. We don’t easily admit that our walk with God is not what it should be or what it once was. As the desperation grows, we decide that we just don’t understand God. We wonder why the rescue team has not arrived. We have left our place of peace. I know that there are times when God allows us to experience a “desert place” that is not of our making. But there are other times when we seem to lose Him in the crowd of our lives. He is there, somewhere, but we no longer communicate as we once did. Our understanding of His ways seems vanquished to the dimmer side of our memories.

                        The answer to the confusion, anxiety and choking cares we face is often found in understanding and admitting that we have made gods of our commitments and responsibilities – the cares of life. As I was looking into what the Word says about cares of life, I was taken aback to find a reference in a message Jesus delivered concerning the end time. “And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged (burdened) with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares,” (Luke 21:34). Jesus warned us that allowing the cares of life to become a burden to us can put out souls in jeopardy.  We don’t have to live under this burden.   

            Jesus came to save us. He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10). He came to make peace a part of our lives, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you… Let not your heart be troubled” (John 14:27). “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace” (John 16:33). How do we get to this place of peace? One of Isaiah’s prophecies concerning Jesus stated, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee (Isaiah 26:3). Our faith, confidence and trust in the Lord are made strong through time spent in His presence and in His Word. When He is first on our list, He will be foremost on our minds. And finally, “Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God...casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you,” (I Peter 5:6-7).