December 7, 2022

I Peter 5: 7 (NIV)

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

“Cast all your anxiety on him”. . . because if you don’t, all that anxiety stays on your shoulders.*

When I was going through troubled times in my first marriage, I was reluctant to let my parents in on what was happening. I was an adult and should be able to handle my own problems, I reasoned. I can’t describe the relief I felt when I finally reached out to them. They didn’t solve my problems for me but they helped to make the load lighter.

God is even better equipped to lighten our load than my parents were for me. Why are we so hesitant to let him carry our worries? He doesn’t tell us to do our best to figure it all out for ourselves before handing it over to him. He wants us to cast our anxiety on him. Cast is a much more forceful word than, say, give or present. I have been told that the verb translated here as cast is the same word used to describe what Jesus did to demons. He didn’t gently send them on their way – he forcefully tossed them out. And that’s what we should do with our cares as soon as we realize that they are taking possession of us. Hand them off to the Lord like a hot potato. Max Lucado describes it as, “An authoritative hand on the collar, another on the belt, and a ‘Don’t come back.’”*

Got some worries breathing down your neck? Show ‘em who’s boss. Toss ‘em out to God before you spend a moment in worry. He cares for you and he will not make you handle your problems alone. Why worry when the Lord of the Universe is working on your behalf?

 It is . . . difficult for the Lord to fight our battles for us when we insist upon trying to fight them ourselves.*