The Antidote to Worry
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Join a Discipleship Group1 Peter 5:7
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
There are few things that will make you more anxious than when you're about to take the test to get your driver's license. Or maybe you are expecting a baby and wondering how long you have to wait for that day they will be born. Just reading these sentences might bring those feelings back up as you remember the last time you were in that situation.
Anxiety is different from fear. Fear is an emotional response to a real threat, whereas anxiety is the anticipation of a something going wrong in the future. When you are anxious, your behavior becomes effected and your thoughts can become hard to control. While we often worry about tomorrow, Jesus told us not to worry about the future and that each day has enough troubles of its own.
God's Spirit inspired the Apostle Peter to write our devotional verse today to tell us what we are to do with our concerns, our worries, our struggles. Peter was a fisherman and he was very familiar with casting….casting nets that were empty hoping they would be filled with fish so that he could pay his bills. He cast those nets every morning and evening trying to gather enough for today. That was stressful. A bad night of fishing might leave him without enough to buy food for his family. He knew the same struggles that you and I face.
Can you picture taking all the things that are making you anxious and laying them down at the feet of Jesus and not worrying about how He handles them? When you were little did you try to figure out each day where the groceries would come from? No, you had child-like faith in those that took care of you.
God is telling us here that we don't have to hold on to our anxiety but let it go….cast it on Him. Why? Because he is assuring us that He cares and I would urge you to remember that He can manage them much better than you or I. Is it your family? He loves them more than you do. Is it your job? He turns the heart of a king like channels of water, he can certainly figure out what to do about your boss. Your health? He is the great healer and may be using your pain to speak to you in a quiet voice.
This verse is not telling you to pretend like your struggles do not exist. You are being reminded who cares more about you than anyone and who is strong enough to hold you up. Repeat this verse to yourself throughout the day when you are feeling stressed.