Overcoming Cares, Part 1

David W Palmer

(Mark 4:18–19 DKJV) “And these are they (the seeds) which are sown among thorns; [the thorny soil are the people who] hear the word, {19} And the cares of this world (life) … choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”

Unlike the hardhearted or the shallow soil categories—who don’t allow any seeds or the roots to enter—these people welcome the seeds and the roots; but they don’t reject rival seeds from also coming in and taking root. Thus the enemy’s weeds grow up and compete with what God has planted; they vie for the sunlight, moisture, and soil-nutrients. Struggling to survive, the good plants are thus greatly stunted and are ultimately unable to produce a harvest. Sadly, they never reach their full potential or destiny.

In his scenario, Jesus says that weeds choke the good seeds. The first one he mentions is the “cares of this world.” Before we can overcome this, we need to know what it is and how it works. So specifically, what does he mean by the word “cares”?

By investigating the definitions of the original Greek word and its root words, we learn that it means to distract the mind from … by partitioning its focus. That is, to bring other things into the mind that distract it from the sole focus needed to bring God’s word to harvest. Another definition describes it as care, anxiety.

What do we need our sole focus to be if we are to see God’s word come to full harvest in the soil of our hearts? Jesus said that we need to “take heed” (or focus on) what we hear from him:

(Mark 4:24 MKJV) And He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With that measure which you measure, it shall be measured to you. And to you who hear, more shall be given.”

“Take heed” means: to look at, to turn the thoughts or direct the mind to, to consider, contemplate, to weigh carefully, or to examine. Therefore, for us to nurture and grow God’s precious word-seed to 100–fold harvest, we need to give our 100% focus and attention to the word we hear from Him.

Remember, the way it works for you is not up to God; he supplies the seed, the soil, and the instructions. But the quality of the soil—whether you allow hardness, rocks, or weeds—is up to you; and the “measure” it works for you will be the “measure” you use. The measure of what? The measure of heeding what you hear:

(Psalms 1:1–3 DKJV) Blessed is the man that doesn’t walk in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. {2} But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law he meditates day and night. {3} He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth his fruit in its season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.

The “blessed” man of Psalm 1 meditates in God’s word “day and night.” This passage implies that his focus is 100% on God’s word—not on the ideas or words of the “ungodly,” the “sinners,” or the “scornful.” In view of this, I encourage you to put your 100% focus on God’s word too, and completely take your attention off the words and ideas of the ungodly—whose words and distracting thoughts bombard us daily.

The Holy Spirit echoes the same idea in the book of Proverbs:

(Proverbs 4:20–23 LITV) My son, pay attention to my words; stretch your ear to what I say; {21} let them not depart from your eyes; keep them in the center of your heart; {22} for they are life to those who find them, and healing to all his flesh. {23} Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.

This and other Scriptures remind us repeatedly of the same things:

Put your focus on God’s words

Listen for them, and really listen to them with your inner ears

Welcome them to the center of your heart—not just the surface

Ensure that all the rocks—hard areas of stubborn rebellion against specific instructions in God’s word—are removed

Allow God’s word-seeds to take permanent root in your heart

Diligently guard your heart by:

Protecting the word-seed growth process—this is where the harvest of blessing will come from

Keeping all competing seeds out—worldly ideas, worries, cares, anxiety, lust for other things, and the deceitfulness of riches

Reap a harvest of life, healing, blessing, etc.

Primarily, the battle with the weeds is the battle for focus. Let’s now look at some of the particulars of that battle, and how to overcome them.

I encourage you; don’t let anything distract you from your focus on God and his word. Remember Jesus’s words to Martha:

(Luke 10:31–42 EMTV) And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. {42} But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

“One thing is needed.” The one thing Jesus was referring to is what Martha’s sister, Mary, was doing; she was sitting at Jesus’s feet and listening to his words. Jesus said this was a choice: “Mary has chosen that good part.”

Let’s remember that one of the enemy’s main strategies to get us off the “one thing that is needful” (KJV) is cares—ordinary everyday worries, anxieties, and mental pressure. His objective in this area is to divide our thinking and to distract us from 100% focus on God’s word. Remember; full focus and involvement with the Living Word of God is the only way—procedure, method, formula, recipe—God’s power and kingdom will produce fruit in your life. The measure you choose to use in this is the measure it will work for you.

I encourage you; see cares, worry, anxiety, and everyday concerns that distract your mind as your enemy. They steal your focus and therefore your harvest. You may have given, prayed, and even fasted for results; and without doubt, these are essential elements in generating a harvest, Yet Jesus spells out even more essential cofactors for harvest: you need to plant the seeds; you need to keep the rocks out, but you also must keep competing seeds from stealing the nutrients and light intended for the seed of God’s word. These competing seeds come to divide our focus and consist simply of worry, cares, anxieties, and pseudo logic, etc.

How do we deal with the cares and mental pressure that we face daily?

(1 Peter 5:7 DKJV) Casting all your care upon him, for he cares for you.

Yes, God is more than capable of handling all your “cares.” How do we cast them on him?

(Philippians 4:6 NKJV) Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

Prayer is the answer. But the Holy Spirit says to pray about “everything” with “thanksgiving.” This may sound like it requires a lot of time in prayer—praying about everything. But God enjoys the fellowship if we do it with a thankful heart. Truly, this is the way to peace and fruitfulness in God’s kingdom; he hasn’t prescribed any other way. Remember, Jesus said that only one thing is needful and that it is a choice; he wants our 100% focus on him and his word.

For added motivation today, I leave you with this thought from James. When you pray today, casting all the care over onto Jesus, pray in faith without doubting:

(James 1:6–8 NKJV) But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. {7} For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; {8} he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Do it now; pray in faith, casting all your care on him without doubting that he received them and can handle them for you. Release all the anxiety and worry, take a deep breath and let go of them all. Either he will handle them without your help, or he will strengthen you with his grace so you can deal with them in peace while enjoying fellowship with him during the process.