Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for
you. 1 Peter 5:7 (ESV)
A new year usually brings hope.
However, with America’s gloomy economic climate many people aren’t
encouraged by the hope of a new year but are anxious for what it may bring. A
recent Gallop Poll shows Americans are worrying in increasing measure
about such things as: not being able to pay the rent/mortgage, not being able
to maintain their lifestyle, not being able to have enough money for retirement
and not being able to pay medical costs.[1] All
these things can add up to a mountain of anxiety.
The question is how do you deal with
your anxiety? People have different ways of dealing with anxiety. Some distract
themselves and try not think about them. Some people drink to make
them disappear, at least temporarily. Others convince themselves that they are
strong enough to handle whatever is coming their way. And some people don’t deal
with it at all, living in a constant state of apprehension.
The Bible has a prescription for
anxiety. The Bible’s remedy is to cast it on the Lord. The Greek word for
“cast” is epirpto which simply means to throw up or
place upon. However, there’s a neat picture from the one other
time when this word is used in the Bible. In Luke 19 when Jesus is about to
make His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on a colt, Jesus’ followers cast (epirpto)
the garments they were wearing on the colt for Jesus. In the same way we are to
cast the anxieties we wear on the Lord. These anxieties weigh us
down and are too much for us to handle. We are to cast them upon the Lord. They
aren’t too much for the Lord to handle; they are nothing to the Lord.
Most people do not doubt that the
Lord is powerful enough to handle their anxieties. However, they may doubt
that the Lord is mindful of their situation, or that He cares for them and
will intervene in their lives. Maybe the most powerful truth of this verse is
the revelation that “he cares for you”! You probably already believe
that He is powerful enough to handle your situation, so believe the Word of God
and trust that He cares for you!
What anxieties are plaguing
you? Cast them on the Lord! Cast them by giving them to Him in prayer.
Cast them and don’t reel them back in. He cares about you and is big enough to
handle whatever you’re dealing with. Cast them on Him -- believe that
He will handle them and your anxiety will disappear.
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