Jump Start # 724

1 Peter 5:7 “Casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”

Our passage today deals with worries. We know that we shouldn’t worry, but it’s hard not to. Three times in Matthew 6 Jesus told the disciples “do not worry.” But we do. There are so many things to worry about—the election, the economy, the kids, jobs, the weather, health, aging parents, church…and on and on the list goes. We worry about getting fat. We worry that the kids spend too much time watching TV. We worry about how we are going to pay for college. The list is long.

Worry has a way of grabbing us by the ankles and holding us down. Worry steals our sleep, ruins our appetite and makes us look old. And if that’s not bad enough, worrying doesn’t accomplish anything. Jesus stressed that in the Sermon on the Mount when He said that being anxious does not add one cubit to your life. Worrying doesn’t pay the bills for you. Worrying doesn’t fix a broken car. Worrying doesn’t do a thing. Yet, we worry.

Our passage identifies two major principles that helps us. These principles are built upon our relationship with God. The greater that relationship is the easier and better these principles work in our lives.

First, cast ALL your anxiety upon Him. Give God your worries. We don’t do that as often as we should. We don’t want to bother God. We feel that He has enough to take care of with this crazy world we live in. We feel that our troubles are not important enough to bother God with. So we keep them to ourselves. We worry. We doubt, we get fearful and we become stressed about life. The joy that ought to be in our hearts is drained because of these worries. You can tell. It shows on our faces. It seems to be all that we talk about. These worries make us complain more than we are thankful. They take our eyes off of Jesus and we become crippled because of them.

Peter tells us what to do. Give them to God. “Cast” is the word he uses. Here, the apostle, a former fisherman, who understood casting nets out into the sea, uses that concept with our worries. Don’t hold on to them. Don’t drop them over the edge so you can keep an eye on them. Don’t dip them gently into the water. Cast them. Throw them off. Fling them. Get rid of them. Give them to God.

Does that solve your problems? No. That won’t start a car that is broken. That won’t pay bills or find a missing dog. What it does is give God the charge of these things. God can do things that we can’t. Turning things over to God invites God into our lives. We do this first by praying. We do this by following His will. We do this by surrounding ourselves with His people. Not all problems go away, at least not for now. However, by giving them to God we find God’s comfort and peace as Paul described in Philippians 4.

Have you prayed about your problems? You need to. God invites you to. He wants you to bother Him with what bothers you.

Secondly, God cares. That’s hard to grasp. There are days that it seems that no one cares. The boss at work doesn’t care. The people at church act like they don’t care. Sometimes our family doesn’t seem to care. Why would God care when no one else does? Because He is God. He is not like others. He loves you. He wants the best for you. He wants you to be spiritual, growing and busy in His kingdom.

Peter’s two statements are connected together. We won’t cast if we think God doesn’t care. He cares, that’s why we can cast. God shows that He cares throughout the Bible. When Jonah was pouting, God was there. He cared. When Elijah was scared and hiding in a cave, God cared. He got Elijah out of the cave. When Paul was discouraged, God cared. He sent Titus to him to refresh his spirit. It’s not just the people in the Bible, it’s you and me. God cares. The sending of Jesus for our sins is proof of that. God hasn’t given up on you.

God doesn’t want you to be conquered nor destroyed by the problems that you are worrying about. He wants you to trust Him. Trust is the antibiotic for worry. The more we trust God the less we worry. When our worry level is high, our trust in God is low. Build your faith. Strengthen your spirit. Feed your soul. Trust God.

The good thing to remember is that our problems do not go with us to Heaven. Whatever plagues us now will remain. We won’t worry about elections, gas prices, weather, jobs and all those things in Heaven. Problems do not go with us—what a relief it is to know that.

How about it? Do you have some “casting” that you need to do today? Do you have some worry that is holding your down? Get rid of it. Give it to God. Throw it hard and far, and then do some serious praying and trusting.

He cares. What a profound and wonderful thought that is.  He cares…

Roger