◄ What Does 1 Peter 5:7 Mean? ►

There are many places in Scripture that remind us that the cares and concerns of this world can become a burdensome load in our lives. 'Independence' proudly proclaims that it has built up a range of coping strategies and self-help skills to deal with all the stresses and strains of life, while 'Pride' arrogantly announces that it is well-able to go it alone. But the Word of God paints a very different picture.

We have been told by the Lord that we cannot manage our daily problems on our own, and this is a severe blow to our self-ego and fleshly-pride, which is rooted in the old sin nature. We are told that strength will be freely given, when we admit our weaknesses and inabilities, and we are charged to hand over all our cares and disappointments to the Lord, Who has promised to bear all our burdens because of His loving-kindness and tender mercy towards us.

All that is required of us is to admit, in humility of heart, our lack, and accept His gracious offer to cast all our cares on Him, knowing that He cares for us and is well able to give us help in time of need. When the cares and concerns of this world are given to the Lord in humility of heart, He pours into that life His peace that passes understanding, and we discover we have a godly wisdom, an enlarged faith, supernatural love, and His sufficient grace, despite the circumstances that hem us in on every side.

How do we cast our burdens on Him? How do we give Him our anxieties and concerns? Well, it all comes back to trusting all that the Lord has promised in His precious Word, and expecting Him to fulfil His Word. We are to expect Him to answer our prayer, but He will do so in His time and in His way, for our greater benefit and for His greater glory.

The Lord is working in each of our lives from an eternal perspective and we are to develop the attitude that Christ demonstrated throughout His earthly life, as He submitted to the Father: "Thy will be done in my life," was His heartfelt prayer.

Rarely does the answer happen the way we expect when we submit to His will, but the Lord will always carry the burdens of those that approach Him with a spirit of trust and a heart of humility. And in His grace, He aligns our will to His will and the delights of His heart become our very own heartfelt longings.

We need to come to a point when we humbly admit our inadequacy, before we can benefit from His super-sufficiency. We need to invite the Lord into every compartment of life and not exclude Him from any cherished sphere or withhold any embarrassing secret. We need to give the little problems we encounter that seem so insignificant, as well as the great burdens that weigh us down, and we need to entrust Him with any physical, material, and emotional burdens, as well as our spiritual trials and testings.

Being called to cast all our anxieties on Him, does not mean giving Him selective burdens while withholding others. He cares about each compartment of life and can minister to every hurt, every difficulty, and every foolish mistake we make.

When anxiety is permitted to dominate a life, faith submits to fear, unbelief is substituted for a trusting heart, and dependence on our Heavenly Father is replaced with prideful self-dependency. How important to know in our very heart that God cares more for our personal well-being than anyone else, including ourselves!

The enemy of our soul whispers lies into our heart and questions the goodness of God and His faithfulness. The accuser of our soul is the devil, who roams around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, and he delights to accuse us before our Heavenly Father. He uses the same strategy to shipwreck our soul as he did in Eden, by whispering in our ear 'Has God really said? Are ALL God's promises true? Can you really trust His Word?' Satan is the evil accuser of the brethren who attempts to prevent us from casting all our cares upon Him by twisting the Word of God and denying the truth.

May we never doubt the integrity and truth of God's Word, for what He has promised He will fulfil. May we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt us at the proper time, and may we cast ALL our anxiety on Him, because He cares for each one of His blood-bought children. 

Heavenly Father, I confess that for too long, I have tried to work out my own problems and carry my own cares in my own strength. Thank You that You care so much for me that I can cast all the burdens, hurts, disappointments, and worries that seem to be flooding my life today upon You, in the sure knowledge that you have promised to carry them. I admit I am weak, but I praise You that I can draw on Your amazing strength, today and in the days that lie ahead, because You care for me. In Jesus' name, AMEN.