1 Peter 5:7 - Winning Over Worry.
1 Peter 5:7 (NIV) Cast all your anxiety on
him because he cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7 (NCV) Give all your worries to
him, because he cares about you.
1 Peter 5:7 (AMP) Casting the whole of your
care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all
your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He
cares for you affectionately and cares about you
watchfully.
INTRODUCTION
It takes more than willpower to stop
worrying. You already know that, because youve
already tried it. Youve thought, I shouldnt
worry about this, and yet you just keep on
worrying about it.
Its going to take more than your
willpower to stop worrying. It takes doing these four
things:
1. Get to KNOW GOD.
Jesus says in Matthew 6:32, People who
dont know God and the way he works fuss over
these things (The Message). If you dont have
a relationship with God, you have every reason
to worry. Youve got to get to know God! As a
believer, you have a heavenly Father who has promised
to take care of you. You are Gods child, and
children get special privileges. When you worry, God
says, Youre my child. Why are you acting
like an orphan? I will take care of you.
2. PUT GOD FIRST in every area of your
life.
Matthew 6:31-33 says, Dont worry at
all about having enough food and clothing . . .
your heavenly Father already knows perfectly well
that you need them, and he will give them to you
if you give him first place in your life and
live as he wants you to (TLB). Any time you
take God out of the center of your life and put
anything else there"no matter how good it
is"youre going to worry.
3. LIVE ONE DAY AT A TIME.
The Bible says, So dont worry about
tomorrow, because tomorrow will have its own worries.
Each day has enough trouble of its own
(Matthew 6:34 NCV). If youre worrying about
tomorrow, you cant enjoy today. You miss todays
blessings. Its okay to plan for tomorrow, but you
have to live for today. Also, when youre
always worried about tomorrow, the future gets
overwhelming. But God will give you the grace and strength
you need when you get there. Right now, you only
need enough power for today.
4. TRUST GOD to care.
Give all your worries and cares to
God, for he cares about you (1 Peter 5:7 NLT).
How do you do that? One way is to memorize
Gods promises in the Bible. Theyre like an
insurance policy for believers. When you know
somethings covered, you dont worry about it anymore.
Another way is to pray. If you prayed as much as you
worried, youd have a lot less to worry about.
Whats the result of taking these four
steps? Incredible peace of mind: You will
experience Gods peace, which is far more wonderful
than the human mind can understand
(Philippians 4:7 TLB). [Daily Devotional by Rick Warren:
https://pastorrick.com/devotional/]
COMMENTARY PEARL
Florida, my new home, is one of the
nations leading states for fishing. Its really
obvious. Drive by any body of water from dawn to
dark, and youll see many, many people fishing.
Men and women, young and old, from piers, off
the coast, in waders, up to their necks, from
boats and bridges fishing is everywhere.
People who fish (not me) know that casting is not
passive. People cast in an athletic stance,
forcefully launching their line into the deep. My
husband is a longtime fisherman, and I sometimes tag
along when he takes our boys. I can testify that
casting isnt as easy as it looks.
Todays Scripture tell us to cast our
anxiety - our cares in some translations -
fling it upon the Lord. Talk about hard to do! I
need constant reminders that casting is a
deliberate action I must choose to take. Over time,
Ive acquired and use a lot of different tools to
practice casting. I PAUSE AND PRAY. Sometimes a
simple HELP ME, JESUS. I JOURNAL. I allow
myself a fixed amount of TIME TO PONDER my cares. I
READ SCRIPTURE ALOUD, SING WORSHIP SONGS, WRITE
DOWN MY FEAR TO PLACE IN MY GOD BOX,
SURRENDERING IT TO THE LORD. I CALL A FRIEND and share my
concern or, even better, I HELP SOMEONE else.
Sometimes I do several things. REPEATEDLY.
Waiting for the anxiety to simply vanish
on its own has not worked for me. I have to
muster my spiritual might to claim this verse and
actively entrust my cares to Him who cares for me.
Casting, believing, trusting all actions. by
Isabella Yosuico
Faith Step: Pray: Lord, give me the
grace and faith and spiritual strength to cast my
cares on Your boundless, loving shoulders. Use
one of my casting tools this week.
[Mornings With Jesus 2019 Devotional by Guideposts and
Zondervan]
COMMENTARY
As my mom stepped into the grocery store
one day, a man coming out paused and said,
You have the most peaceful-looking face. You
look like you dont have a care in the
world. My mom answered, Thats because I gave
them all to Jesus!
I understand that you cant always tell
how a person feels on the inside by looking at
her facial expression, but then again, sometimes
you can. That mans comment didnt surprise
me in light of recent phone conversations Id
had with my mother. But he might have been
surprised to know that when I was growing up, my
mother qualified as a worrier - like I tend to be
today.
My dad passed away in 2016, the day
before my parents sixty-ninth anniversary.
Naturally widowhood has made some things more
difficult for my mom and brought new problems and
issues. Mom often will tell me about a difficulty or
even scary incident that happened, but she always
ends by saying, I just PRAYED ABOUT IT AND
TURNED IT OVER TO THE LORD. Hell take care of
it.
Just before His crucifixion, Jesus told
His disciples, Dont let your hearts be
troubled (John 14:1, NLT). How can we obey that in a
fallen world where terrible things happen every
day? Jesus gave the secret at the end of the
verse: Trust [Believe in some translations] in
Me. Do we trust Him with a scary medical
diagnosis, a wayward spouse or child, a sudden job
loss? If we trust Jesus to take care of everything
that concerns us, then our faces will reflect
that. by Dianne Neal Matthews
Faith Step: Glance at yourself in a
mirror. What message does your face reflect? Peace
and trust in Jesus, or stress? Recite aloud John
14:1 until you smile. [Mornings With Jesus 2020
Devotional by Guideposts and Zondervan]
Our dog, Flash, is cross between a Jack
Russell terrier and a Chihuahua. He is cute and fast
and loves to play. He loves it when you throw
him the ball. He just has one problem. Once he
brings the ball back to you, he won't let it go.
You can tell he wants to give it to you as he
nudges it toward you. But as soon as you try and
pick it up, he snatches it and growls. Then he
looks at you, as if to say, "Why aren't you
playing with me?'
The dog has issues. So do I. That is
probably why I like him so much. I am just like
Flash, who worries over his toy, constantly moving
it around, never taking his eyes off it. This
is what I do with my problems. I cannot let
them go. I keep thinking about them, feeling sick
to my stomach. All the while, my eyes are on
Jesus and I am saying, "Why aren't You doing
anything about this? I keep bringing it to You.' I
bring my problem to Him. But I forget to let it
go. I forget to say, "I would like You to take
care of this, so I am placing it in Your hands."
WHEN WE PRAY, WE ARE "tossing the
ball. LAYING OUR WORRIES, OUR CARES, OUR DREAMS AT
THE FEET OF JESUS. BUT IT IS ONLY WHEN WE HAVE
EMPTIED OUR HEARTS AND MINDS OF OUR WORRIES THAT HE
CAN FILL US UP WITH HIS OVERWHELMING PEACE THAT
PASSES ALL UNDERSTANDING. - Susanna Foth Aughtmon
Faith Step: Picture yourself throwing
your "ball" of worries into the sky. Release them
to Jesus's care and ask Him to fill you with
His overwhelming peace. [Mornings With Jesus
2019 Devotional by Guideposts and Zondervan re
Phi. 4:6-7]
God's Word teaches us not to worry, but
at times we are all tempted to do it anyway. As
a mother, I want all of my children to be
happy at all times, and when they are not, I tend
to get concerned about them and I want to fix
whatever the problem is. I find myself in that
situation today, and I am busy reminding myself that
worrying and fretting does absolutely no good. It is
actually a total waste of time.
Even though we may know the Word of God,
we often have to remind ourselves of it by
meditating on it or looking up Scriptures we know,
reading them again and again. GOD'S WORD CONTAINS
POWER THAT WILL HELP US DO WHAT WE KNOW WE SHOULD
DO, AND IT WILL COMFORT US IN OUR CONCERNS.
GOD'S WORD IS MEDICINE FOR OUR SOULS. IT
CALMS OUR EMOTIONS AND GIVES US PEACE OF MIND.
ANYTIME YOU ARE WORRIED ABOUT ANYTHING, I ENCOURAGE
YOU TO TURN TO GOD'S WORD FOR THE STRENGTH YOU
NEED TO LET IT GO!
Father, I know that You don't want me to
worry, but to trust You at all times. Help me learn
to never waste my time on worry. [My Time with
God by Joyce Meyer]
The other day one of my grandkids asked
me whether there were more stars in the sky
than sand on the shore.
I really dont know, I said. But
heres what I do know: the Bible says that Gods
thoughts toward us are greater than the sand of the
sea (see Psalm 139:18).
Have you ever picked up a handful of sand
and just let it pour through your hand for a
moment? Gods thoughts about us are greater than
all those grains of sand. God thinks about us.
He cares about us.
And as Jesus said, Do not fear, little
flock, for it is your Fathers good pleasure to
give you the kingdom (Luke 12:32 NKJV). He is
our King, which speaks of the sovereignty of
God. This simply means that God is in control.
Hes in control of our lives, and nothing catches
Him by surprise. It may catch you by surprise,
but not Him.
And if its a concern to you, then
its also a concern to Him. In Psalm 119, David
wrote of the Lord, Your regulations remain true
to this day, for everything serves your
plans (verse 91 NLT).
With this in mind, we need to cast our
cares on God. This is something we need to do
daily. It may even be something we need to do
hourly, because sometimes we give something to God
and then take it right back.
THERE ARE TIMES IN OUR LIVES WHEN WE HAVE
TO KEEP COMING TO THE LORD AGAIN AND AGAIN,
depending on what were facing in the given moment.
God is saying, Let me help you with that. Let
me carry that thing youre carrying. Give it
to me.
Give all your worries and cares to
God, says 1 Peter 5:7, for he cares about
you (NLT). [Greg Laurie from Harvest Ministries;
https://www.harvestdaily.com]
CLOSING THOUGHT
Worry is the burlap bag of burdens.
Its overflowing with whaddifs and
howells. Whaddif after all my dieting, I find that
lettuce is fattening and chocolate isnt? Howell
we pay our babys tuition? Whaddifs and
howellsthe burlap bag of worry. Cumbersome. Chunky.
Unattractive. Scratchy. Irritating to carry and
impossible to give away!
No one wants your worries. The truth is,
you dont want them either. No one has to
remind you of the high cost of anxiety, but I will
anyway. WORRY DIVIDES THE MIND. IT SPLITS OUR
ENERGY BETWEEN TODAYS PRIORITIES AND
TOMORROWS PROBLEMS. THE RESULT IS HALF-MINDED
LIVING!
Hebrews 4:16 encourages us to boldly
approach the throne of our gracious God, where we may
receive mercy and, in His grace, find timely
help. Gods help is timely! God will do the
right thing at the right time. And what a
difference that makes! [from Traveling Light by Max
Lucado at maxlucado.com]
LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS PASSAGE
1 Peter 5:7: GIVE IT TO JESUS:
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2017/20170717-0938.html
YOUR COMMENTS
If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in
hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred
Gibbs
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
Most Important Decision in Life:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0
A Man without Equal by Bill Bright:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVa7UoruIo
Seeking God Made Real:
http://vimeo.com/31489782
Prayer Made Real:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc8VdMV26VE
Importance of Choice:
http://creationhealth.com/CREATION-Health/Choice [click on video]
Medical Seminar on Healthful Living by David
DeRose, MD, MPH:
https://www.smartlifestyletv.com/lifestart
LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDIES
Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies:
http://www.liftingupjesus.net/
Amazing Facts Bible Studies:
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx
Glow Tract Video Bible Studies:
http://www.bibleresearch.info/
LINKS FOR BIBLE PROPHECY SEMINARS
The Last Day of Prophecy by Pastor Doug
Batchelor:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmGvdtMCf1aJTiC59-lPtuUMEq_uEn0BK
Prophecies Decoded by Pastor Ron Clouzet:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657
Hope Awakens by John Bradshaw of IIW (Live
Series):
https://www.discoverhopeawakens.com/webinar-registration-21585698406854
