Cast all those anxieties on Jesus

 

Read 1 Peter 5:5-11.

‘Casting all your care upon him; for he cares for you’ is a golden text in every way. God would not have us careless, vv. 8–9; the constant prowling of our adversary calls for constant vigilance on our part. But God would have us carefree, v. 7.

Peter’s readers had every cause for anxiety. They faced numerous challenges. In the present, they suffered simply because they were Christians, 4:16. Prospects for the future were even worse; in rather ominous words, Peter warned them that the time had come ‘that judgment must begin at the house of God’, 4:17. The storm clouds were gathering.

Recognising that his readers had every reason to be alarmed, Peter alludes to the Greek Old Testament translation of Psalm 55:22, ‘Cast your care upon the Lord’. To stifle any remaining doubts on their part, however, he adds the precious word, ‘all’. They do not need to bear any anxieties themselves; instead, they can cast 'all' their concerns on Him.

Peter had concluded chapter 2 with a reference to the words of Isaiah 53:6, ‘All we like sheep have gone astray … and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all’. He now invites his persecuted readers to cast their cares where God once laid their sins—on Him! Today, rejoice in the knowledge that He, who once bore the weight of your sins, is undoubtedly capable of bearing the weight of your worries.

Finally, Peter provides his readers with the reason that they can confidently cast their anxieties on the Lord: ‘for it matters to him about you’, v. 7b lit. The Lord Jesus once spoke of the hireling to whom it did not matter about’ the sheep, John 10:12 (the same Greek expression). However, Peter assures his readers that it matters to their Shepherd, 2:25; 5:4, about them.

Peter had once been in a great storm and, in doubt and fear, had called out to Jesus, ‘Teacher, doesn’t it matter to you that we are perishing’, Mark 4:38. Peter has learnt his lesson.

Confronted now with a different, but no less fierce, storm, in words reminiscent of his previous experience, he vouches for the fact that the sufferings of his readers are of great concern to the Saviour—‘it matters to him about you’. 

What a thrilling assurance for us to take in the presence of God today. Bring all your cares to Him now, and leave them with Him. The throne of grace is the place where our burdens change shoulders!