1 Peter 5:7
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7
My Piggies
I read a tale in the Daily Bread devotional about two young boys, David and his older brother Tom, strolling on the side of a river. While they were walking, David had been gathering smooth, round stones from the creek. He nicknamed them “piggies” because of their spherical appearance, which reminded him of miniature pigs. David had put a lot of “piggies” into his pockets, and when his pockets were full, he started holding them in his arms. After a time, he started to stumble and lag behind due to the weight of the load.
He was clearly not going to make it back to the home without assistance, so Tom offered, “Here, David, let me carry your piggies.” For a brief time, David’s face was clouded with reluctance, but then it lit up. “I know,” he admitted. “You carry me, and I’ll carry your piggies!” I’ve frequently reflected on the event and my own juvenile insistence on carrying my own burden. Jesus offers to bear all of my troubles, but I refuse because I am obstinate and proud. “You carry me, but I’ll carry my ‘piggies,'” I say.
God Cares
How stupid it is to attempt to bear all of your responsibilities on your own when Jesus instructs you to “cast all your worry upon Him, because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). How often do we wish to turn our clocks backwards because we refuse to trust God and his leadership? We can only stop worrying when we submit our worries and supplications to God through prayer. Trusting him is setting aside the noise of the current pressure, confusion and storms engulfing us and entering into his peace (Philippians 4:6). Casting our cares to God means letting go and giving up total control of our lives and affairs to God.
Kneeling
We see Jesus the maker of heaven and earth, God in the flesh, praying in John 17:1-26 just before the crucifixion. He knew his time on earth was coming to an end, and he interceded deeply. We see Jesus pray for Himself (1-5), His Disciples (6-19), and all Christians (20-26) in the 26 lines of what is popularly known as “The High Priestly Prayer”. In particular, Jesus prayed that we, as believers, might be a unified people, able to bear witness to Jesus’ true identity as the One sent by God. If Jesus had a habit of praying, so must we (Luke 5:16).
Let us learn to turn our confidence toward God so that we can easily offload our anxieties, worries and concerns to Him. Some people are scared because of upcoming medical tests, news of chronic diseases, unemployment, failure etc. None of us hasn’t felt similar fears of unwanted life events. The only place we can find comfort through these situations is in scripture.
God is always ready to hold our hand and walk with us (Isaiah 41:13). When we kneel and throw off our cares to Him, He gives us indescribable heart guarding peace that transcends our understanding. When life gets too hard to stand on our own abilities, we must kneel and ask God for help.
King James Version (KJV)
“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”
New International Version (NIV)
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
“Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.”
New American Bible (NASB)
“having cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares about you.”
English Standard Version (ESV)
“casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”
The Living Bible (TLB)
“Let him have all your worries and cares, for he is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you.”