"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you" - Part One
(1 Peter 5:7 TNIV)
The book of 1 Peter is stacked with verses that, if applied, are life changing. I am often challenged by its directives on how we should love each other for instance. Yet perhaps the most famous verse of 1 Peter comes in Chapter 5, where we are instructed to cast all our anxiety upon the Lord, for he cares for us.
Recently, I was huffing over a situation that causes me distress and the Lord’s response was short yet powerful: "cast your cares”. It was intrinsically soothing. As I complied, I felt the benefit, and as the cloud lifted, I realised that this is a verse that we quote and share, but perhaps fail to follow.
Too often, we let this verse reside in the “soothing” box of life, but it is far more than that! Instead, we need to linger and absorb this command, until its instruction becomes implicit in our conduct. For only then will this verse activate its intended power: it is, when we apply it, liberating, releasing, life-changing! Rather than quote this verse glibly, we are called to respond prescriptively. To drop the care and leave it to the Lord. This means letting go. It means that whenever the care or fear looms, we simply say “oh, Jesus is dealing with that” and cast it once more.
I would encourage you to form a discipline of casting your cares. Attach that recurring stress to the end of an imaginary fishing line and launch it into the sea. Cast it far, but unlike a fishing line, don’t reel it in! It takes practice, but step by step, we arrive, until casting our cares becomes a way of life. Imagine how different life would be!
This verse is more than an invitation: it is a conscription to a better way of life.
Dear Readers, August for many of us signals the summer break - yet if we are to experience a genuine break, we need to absorb the command of 1 Peter 5:7 and cultivate the art of casting our care. I'd love to hear your views!