1 Peter 5:7

1 Peter 5:7 ‘casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.'

‘casting' -‘throw upon, place upon' (Thayer p. 242). ‘The aorist participle denoting an act once for all; throwing the whole life with its care on him' (Vincent p. 668) (Psalms 55:22; Matthew 6:25; 1 Peter 4:6). Humbling yourself under the mighty hand of God includes casting all your cares upon Him, i.e. trusting Him and not yourself.

Points to Note:

‘Peter recognizes that. great barrier to putting others first and thinking of them as more important is the legitimate human concern “But who then will care for me?' The answer is that God himself will care for our needs. He is able to do far more than we are…Therefore casting all your anxieties on him is the path to humility, freeing. person from constant concern for himself and enabling him or her truly to be concerned for the needs of others.' (Grudem p. 195) 2. ‘We can be certain that, because God cares for us, life is out, not to break us but to make us; and, with that assurance, we can accept any experience which comes to us, knowing that God works everything together for good to them who love Him (Romans 8:28).' (Barclay pp. 322-323)

‘all' -‘The whole of your care.' (Vincent p. 668) And yet some of us have the tendency to insist that we have something to worry about. We need to realize that any type of anxiety can choke the Word (Matthew 13:22; Mark 4:19).

‘anxiety' -‘to draw in different directions, distract, that which causes this, an anxious care' (Vine p. 168) ‘anxiety…is rooted in. yesterday that we cannot believe forgiven or in. tomorrow that we will not trust.' (Plain Talk 11/3/1) Anxiety happens when one thinks that they are the only one who is looking out for themselves. That everything rests upon their shoulders

‘because He cares for you' -‘meaning the watchful care of interest and affection' (Vincent p. 669). ‘You are his personal concern' (Phi). 1. Notice the freedom that is given the Christian! Serving God isn't. life of hard bondage, rather, it is the life in which someone is constantly watching over you. God has liberated you from distracting cares and worries. 2. God has already proven His great concern and interest in us, in having His Son die for our sins (Romans 8:32). 3. In the context, “pride” keeps us from being liberated from our worries. ‘Pride is at the root of most of our anxiety. To human pride it is humiliating to cast everything upon another and be cared for.' (Vincent p. 669) Unfortunately, we insist upon loading down ourselves with unnecessary cares. Or, we burden brethren, family members---we insist on talking to everyone, but God!

Living In The Midst Of Spiritual Conflict: