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“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” You may be familiar with this verse from 1 Peter 5:7; I’ve quoted it and encouraged others with it time and again. But as simple as it is, this eleven-word verse makes it clear that there is much power to be unleased in our lives if we truly believe what this verse says.
Cast all your anxieties on him—why? Because he cares for you. Oh, my, he cares for me? He—the one and only God—knows me and cares about me? That’s what it says. Do you believe it?
If you’ve been born again through faith in Jesus Christ, this verse is there for you. Peter wrote it because he knew it was true. He is the one who denied Jesus three times after declaring he would die for him. Peter is the one who ran off while Jesus was being arrested. And now, after the resurrection, after being commissioned by Jesus to go feed his sheep, Peter is a changed man, now empowered by the Holy Spirit, and he’s been feeding the new sheep of the early church. He’s been through all kinds of troubles and has a ton of cares and worries. Those sheep aren’t that easy to lead.
So, inspired by the Holy Spirit, Peter writes: “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” He cares for you. Peter knew that care; he experienced it first-hand. And he assures you and me that the same God who took care of him through all those early days of the new church—that God cares for you, too.
As I’ve been meditating on this tiny piece of scripture, I’ve been so blessed. Yes, I knew it before, but now I know it in new ways. And by God’s grace, I want to live it like never before. You, too? Cast—throw—all your anxieties, every last one of them, on the Lord, the One who has power to rescue you, to comfort you, to give you endurance and peace, because he cares for you. Believe it, live it because it’s true. He cares for you.
We have created a card of this verse to remind you to cast all your anxiety on God. Click here to download.
If you would like to read the entire week’s message, click here to view/download the PDF.