…casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. – 1 Peter 5:7 ESV
Today’s verse is one I have memorised and referred to for many years and I guess quite a few of us have too. When I face challenges that I can’t handle or deal with, it reminds me that God is waiting for me to cast those worries and cares on Him. However, I don’t learn to cast those cares on Him until I am at my wits’ end. And I’ve sometimes made the situation worse by trying to do it with my own wisdom and strength.
Recently, I came across this verse again and it was like yeah, yeah, I know this one! But the next day, I came across another verse: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,” and guess the verse that completed the sentence, “casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5: 6-7 ESV
Over the years, I never realised that these verses together formed a whole sentence, I viewed them separately – “Humble yourselves… and Casting all your anxieties…” And some versions (NLT and NIV) give that impression.
Apostle Peter knew what he was saying when he wrote these verses as a whole sentence. You can’t cast all your anxieties/cares on the Lord unless you are humble. Most of the time I cast some, the difficult and challenging ones, the others, I can handle myself – Pride!
Peter thought he could stand by and follow Jesus with his willpower and strength, only to fail miserably. He came to understand that to follow Christ, he had to cast all – the smallest and simplest of decisions on the Lord. Trusting Him to direct our paths in miraculous ways that lead to being exalted at the right time.
The Bible has a lot of examples of people who lived humbled lives, trusting God every step of the way. They weren’t perfect people, but they learnt from their mistakes, and we’ll look at the life of a few of them – Abraham, Joseph, Moses and King David.
Let’s start with Abraham, the Bible describes him as the friend of God. “… ‘Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.’ He was even called the friend of God.” James 2:23 (NLT); “But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, The descendants of Abraham My friend.” Isaiah 41:8 (NKJV)
It would have taken great humility for Abraham to leave the life he had known for 75 years behind. Trusting God to lead him step by step in a different direction. Sometimes Abraham wandered from God’s leading and in most instances landed himself in trouble. But immediately he realises his mistakes, he would fall back in step, trusting God to take control and do what He does best.
Most of the time we want to know the whys, hows and whens before we act, so we can control the narrative.
As Christians, God controls the narrative, we don’t. It takes humility and casting to totally surrender to God. We will talk more about this in the next blog.
Stay blessed,
LaraLex
Hills and Valleys 