--Julie Allar
"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God... casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you." --1 Peter 5:6-7
Step 1: Humble yourself. Step 2: Cast your cares. There is a specific purpose in the order of Peter's instructions. The word cast means "to toss quickly," which reminds me of the childhood game of "Hot Potato." As quickly as a child tosses the "hot potato" in that game, we should be as quick to toss our anxieties and concerns to God. This is not as easy as it sounds. Tossing quickly is not something we typically do with our anxieties or worries. We usually hang onto them for awhile -- maybe a couple of days, weeks, months or even years. Our firm, prideful grip prevents us from completely releasing them, holding on to what should have been tossed to God while we worry a little longer. Sometimes we think that by coveting our concerns rather than casting them, we can somehow create our own anxiety remedy apart from God. The world can convince us that we are abnormal if we don't display some form of worry over one thing or another. As a result, our worries are rarely treated like hot potatoes in our hands. But refusing to cast our cares is really sin. Jesus specifically tells us, "Do not worry about your life" (Mt 6:25). So when we worry, we are disobedient to His command and have rejected the practice of humility. This is why Peter specifies humility first and casting second. Humility releases our grip on worry. When we finally cast our cares upon God, He places a cast on those anxieties. Like a broken bone in the hands of a physician, the Lord gently sets and wraps our concerns in the cast of His love so that they are completely inaccessible to our selfish grip. Only then can healing from worry and anxiety take place. Our successful casting first requires honest humility, trusting in God's plan for our concerns rather than our own solutions. Humbling ourselves long enough to cast our cares into God's mighty hand will bring us peace and hope. Why? Because He cares for us.
Faithful Father, by your grace, help us to humble ourselves before you so we can loosen our grip on anxiety in our lives. Fill us with your peace that defies all understanding as we cast our cares upon you.
"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God... casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you." --1 Peter 5:6-7
Step 1: Humble yourself. Step 2: Cast your cares. There is a specific purpose in the order of Peter's instructions. The word cast means "to toss quickly," which reminds me of the childhood game of "Hot Potato." As quickly as a child tosses the "hot potato" in that game, we should be as quick to toss our anxieties and concerns to God. This is not as easy as it sounds. Tossing quickly is not something we typically do with our anxieties or worries. We usually hang onto them for awhile -- maybe a couple of days, weeks, months or even years. Our firm, prideful grip prevents us from completely releasing them, holding on to what should have been tossed to God while we worry a little longer. Sometimes we think that by coveting our concerns rather than casting them, we can somehow create our own anxiety remedy apart from God. The world can convince us that we are abnormal if we don't display some form of worry over one thing or another. As a result, our worries are rarely treated like hot potatoes in our hands. But refusing to cast our cares is really sin. Jesus specifically tells us, "Do not worry about your life" (Mt 6:25). So when we worry, we are disobedient to His command and have rejected the practice of humility. This is why Peter specifies humility first and casting second. Humility releases our grip on worry. When we finally cast our cares upon God, He places a cast on those anxieties. Like a broken bone in the hands of a physician, the Lord gently sets and wraps our concerns in the cast of His love so that they are completely inaccessible to our selfish grip. Only then can healing from worry and anxiety take place. Our successful casting first requires honest humility, trusting in God's plan for our concerns rather than our own solutions. Humbling ourselves long enough to cast our cares into God's mighty hand will bring us peace and hope. Why? Because He cares for us.
Faithful Father, by your grace, help us to humble ourselves before you so we can loosen our grip on anxiety in our lives. Fill us with your peace that defies all understanding as we cast our cares upon you.
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