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“Cast all your anxiety on Him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).
It sounds so easy, doesn’t it? And yet…I pray for God to provide financially for my mounting school debt, but my heart flips when I receive that credit card bill in the mail. I pray for God to keep my family healthy, safe, and happy, but when the phone rings I dread bad news. I try to cast my anxieties on Him, but they stick to me like my last doughnut.
Most people can quote the verse above by heart, but few know what comes just before it. “Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time” (1 Peter 5:5-6).
What does pride have to do with anxiety? Why did Peter link these two ideas? For some pride looks like an upturned nose and a downward glance. For others pride oozes out of an ‘I’m not good enough’ attitude. One teacher defined pride in this way. “Pride is not thinking too much of myself. It’s thinking of myself too much.”
If pride means looking at myself, then humility means the opposite. Humility looks at God. When I feel anxious about my school debt, pride tells me I have to provide for my own needs. Humility says “God owns the cattle on a thousand hills—trust Him to provide for the future as He has the past.”
When I dread bad news with every phone call, pride tells me I need to protect my family. Humility says “God is good! God is strong! God does not make mistakes.” When I focus on God, I cast my cares and they stick. But when I focus on myself, my cares hit the ceiling and bounce right back.
What cares are stuck to you right now? Make a list. Then go to God’s Word. Some truth or promise or story will speak to each item. Find those truths and ask yourself, “Do I believe this?” Train yourself to focus on the God who keeps all His promises. This takes practice, but when we focus on God and cast our anxieties on Him, we discover that God really does care for us. He wants to take our burdens upon Himself if we’ll just let Him.
Dear God, help us to trust You. Help us to deem Your promises true, Your character good, and Your love real. Teach us to focus our thoughts on You so that we can cast our cares into Your capable hands. Amen.
Questions: What cares are you facing right now? How can God help face these cares?
About the Author Rebecca Sample
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Thank you so much for this. I struggle so much with feeling guilty for worry and anxiety. I know His promises are true and His love is real. How wonderful that I can ask Him to help me trust more instead of feeling guilty for not. Simple but for me so wonderful!
Looking at pride from that point of view I can understand why in Proverbs it reads, “Pride goes before destruction a haughy spirit before a fall”
Hi Rebecca, excellent devotional. I haven’t thought about pride in this way(I’m not good enough” attitude). Has given me something to think about today.
Thank you for the comparison of pride and humility. When I am anxious, I will stop and think…..what can I do with this anxiety? Cast it upon my heavenly Father. Thank you again.
Your devotional really spoke to me. I’m going through a rough time and realize a lot of my anxiety is focused on myself and what will happen to me. I realize now the need to focus on God and let the rest go. That’s a little hard for me as I’ve always been in charge. It’s time to let go and let God.
Thanks for your words.
Hi Rebecca,
I really like your writing style! This devotional not only applyed to my life right now but was a good read, too! Thank-you for letting God speak through you!
thank you
[…] Devotionals — rebeccasample02 @ 12:48 am Published by PowertoChange.com, Dec. 6, 2010 Click Here “Cast all your anxiety on Him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). It sounds so […]
Hi Rebecca,
You have a good revelation from the Lord. Praise God.
I have a little concern and correction (in Love, of course) over your first para. We can only pray TO God, and not For God :) I pray to the Almighty, may the Lord shower more of His wisdom and revelation to you and increase you in the knowledge of Him. Take care.
Cheers and love and kisses :)
Raju :)
Raju, I totally agree with you that we cannot pray for God since God is the Almighty. I think this is a misunderstanding on your part of how the grammar of this sentence works in English…the author is saying that she prays ‘for’ God to meet her need of mounting school debt, in other words she is asking God to meet that need in her life. I hope that explains your question.