Written by Pastor Jack Wellman– 1 Peter 5:7
Here are four solid reasons we should give all of our anxieties to God.
Too Heavy to Bear Alone
Peter gives us good advice in writing “cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Pet. 5:7) because we can’t carry our own anxieties, and we weren’t made to do so. If we try to carry them by ourselves, we’ll find it too heavy of a load to bear. Imagine that you are carrying a heavy load and your big brother is with you. Wouldn’t it make sense to have him carry it for you? Of course it would. So why do we try and carry what we were never intended to carry in the first place? Since Jesus cares for you, then you know He wants to have you cast them all on Him. The major difference here is that 1 Peter 5:7 doesn’t say that He’ll share the load with you; rather, He wants you to cast it all upon Him. That’s a huge difference maker.
Take His Yoke Upon You
In the agrarian society, in which many in Judea lived, they had oxen that carried the heavy loads or pulled the plows behind them. They were connected with a yoke so as to spread out the load so that no single ox would have to bear all the weight. That’s the imagery that Jesus used when He said, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matt. 11:29). If you are yoked with Christ, you are connected together with the God of the universe, and no load is too heavy for Him. For you and me, yes, it is far too heavy to carry by ourselves, but with Christ, we “will find rest for [our] souls.”
Humble Yourselves
Once again we hear from Peter, who says, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you” (1 Pet. 5:6), which follows with the command to “cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” The point is that we must first humble ourselves to see that we cannot carry our anxieties alone and admit that to God. Pride sometimes makes us resist seeking help, even from God, and that’s a bad idea. These anxieties can cause us to fall flat on our face, so James writes, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up” (James 4:10). If you and I don’t humble ourselves, we won’t find rest and we can’t be lifted up, showing that we are weighed down when we still try to carry our anxieties.
It Shows We Trust God
Paul wrote, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Phil. 4:6). Here is an imperative command from Paul to not let us be anxious about anything but rather pray about it and commit our requests to God. James wrote, “You do not have because you do not ask” (James 4:2), so it makes no sense if we are anxious about things but don’t ask God about these things in prayer. The only thing we need to seek is the kingdom and the King of that kingdom, and God promises to provide all that we’ll ever need (Matt. 6:33), not all that we’ll ever want. Anxiety is the opposite of trust.
Conclusion
Cast every anxiety you have on Jesus because it’s far too heavy for us to carry. Take Jesus’ yoke so that you can find rest. Humble yourself. Ask God for His help, and trust in the God Who owns all things.
