A few weeks ago, we looked at the beautiful command in 1 Peter 5:7 in our Bible Study:
Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.
We talked about how we needed to be energetic in our casting; we needed to muster up our strength and throw away our anxieties. We can’t accidentally put our burdens on the Lord. We need to be intentional. But we can be confident to cast our burdens on God, because He cares. He loves us, He knows our every need, and He’s always present.
This verse is encouraging and important, but just as important is the context the verse comes from. Peter commands in verse 6 to be humble toward God and toward each other. Pride and grace are like oil and water; they don’t mix. If we want to live in God’s unmerited favor, then we need to lay aside our pride and receive God’s love for the gift that it is. And we need to be humble towards Him and toward others as a result.
Now sister, this might touch a nerve, but go with me for a second. If Peter’s command to cast our anxieties on God flows from his command to be humble, what are we supposed to do when our anxieties stem from a place of pride?
“I’m worried that I’m not popular. My life is hardly Instagram-worthy.”
“I’m worried that I’m not rich. I can’t project wealth and status like my neighbor can.”
“I can’t get revenge on the person that wronged me. I can’t get even, and it’s eating me up inside.”
Can we cast these kinds of anxieties on God? I have mixed thoughts. On the one hand, God always wants us to come to Him. He knows us completely – scripture says He knows our frame, that we are but dust. He knows when we’re operating from a prideful place, so we might as well be honest with Him, right?
On the other hand, if we’re focused on our status, wealth, or notoriety, how can we also focus on God? We can bring these anxieties to God, we can try to cast them on Him, but my guess is that we’ll soon be anxious all over again. Our self-focus will bring up our same selfish problems.
So, what do we do? We’re being transformed into Christ-likeness, by God’s grace, we’re reflecting Christ more and more every day. But we still fight against our sinful nature. Augustine said that pride is ‘a soul curved in on itself.’ We’re all a bit bent inside.
So I absolutely think we should come to God. But before we try casting, let’s humble ourselves first. Let’s repent first. Let’s acknowledge our own pride, our own selfishness, and how it’s feeding anxieties we were never meant to have. And then, instead of casting, what if we tried trading? Jesus promised to give rest to anyone who came to Him with heavy burdens. Let’s trade our perspective for His, our thoughts for His, our priorities for His.
“I’m worried that I’m not popular. God, remind me that I’m your beloved daughter, so I don’t find my validation from other people.”
“I’m worried that I’m not rich. God, bind my heart to yours. Captivate my heart so completely, because my heart and treasure gravitate to the same place.”
“God, I’m wounded and bitter. Remind me that nothing escapes your gaze. You are a God of justice, and one day you’ll put everything to right.”
We can always cast our cares on God. He cares for us in all things, even when we’re selfish. But we’re also called to be humble. Let’s be quick to repent this week. Let’s look at the root of our worries, and trade Jesus our heavy burdens for His easy yoke.
