First Peter 5:6-7 tells us, “Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time, having cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares about you.” The context around “casting our cares” in this passage is humility. Notice what Peter said first: “Humble yourselves.” Under what? “Under the mighty hand of God.”
Not your own hand.
Typically, what happens in trying, anxious, and nerve-racking times is that we still attempt to hold on to control. However, we’re called to do the opposite. To let go. To humbly submit. The reason it’s so hard to cast our cares on the Lord is that our pride gets in the way. Pride is intentionally or unintentionally thinking more or less of oneself. Either “I got this; I don’t need Jesus” or “Why would Jesus want to help a useless waste of space like me?” See, pride isn’t just thinking you’re a hotshot. Pride is also doubting your self-value and worth, which is the root of most anxiety. Pride can create conceit or feelings of lowliness.
Neither produces righteousness.
Why would Jesus want to help you? Because He cares for you. Please hear me when I say this: to be cared for does not equate to inferiority; to be cared for is to be loved. And God loves you so much that He wants to take your burdens off your back. To refuse this invitation is foolish and prideful. When we humble ourselves, submitting to the fact that God’s got us, only by His doing can we release our cares upon Him. Choosing humility produces a holy confidence.
The Hebrew term used for cast means to throw upon someone or something else. This is an intentional, active decision. It’s choosing to trust. The same term is used in Psalm 55:22: “Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you.” The Message paraphrases it, “Pile your troubles on GOD’S shoulders—he’ll carry your load, he’ll help you out.”
The Bible doesn’t teach us that we will never have burdens. On the contrary, it tells us that we will be persecuted, endure trials, and wage war with darkness. When we’re met with stress or crises, it’s not because we’re awful people who have done something wrong. We’re just passing through this time on earth and living in the fallen experience. So the question isn’t if we will experience hard stuff; it’s how we will respond. How do we cope with off-kilter emotions that stem from unpleasant situations?
It’s simple yet so hard to do at times. We hope. We soak and bathe not in our misery but in the words of Jesus: “These things I have spoken to you so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Casting our burdens and choosing hope is not a onetime deal. When we feel overwhelmed, unhinged. or faint of heart, we cast our cares on Jesus. We do it moment by moment. hour by hour, or minute by minute if we need to. Today and tomorrow. We choose to cast and keep casting our cares on the One who brought us from death to life.
When Jesus died on the cross for our sins, He gave us the channel to move from the old to the new. The debt we owed was canceled because He took our place. He paid our balance in full. Because of this greatest gift, we can live connected to the Creator of the universe every day. We have a source for everything. including our emotional well-being. We can keep going to Him, and that source will never be broken.
As we cast our cares, we begin to recognize those things that are outside our control, which, technically speaking, are most things. We may not control who hires us, when or why we’ll spend a week in the hospital, or if we’ll be on the list of layoffs, but we can focus on what we are called to do: live mission possible.
Instead of isolating ourselves, we can love God.
Instead of feeling bitter, we can love people.
Instead of being selfish, we can put the interests of others above our own.
Instead of complaining, we can serve.
Instead of being paralyzed by fear, we can take action.
Instead of being trapped by doubt, we can say yes.
When we begin to realize the unshakable character of God, whatever comes our way, we can stand firm and live by our convictions.
Tim Tebow, author of Mission Possible and Bronco & Friends: Mission Possible, joins James and Betty this Tuesday and Thursday on LIFE TODAY. Excerpted from Mission Possible by Tim Tebow. Copyright ©2022 by Timothy R. Tebow. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
