Cast all your cares on him, for he cares for you. —1 Peter 5:7
Click Here to Read Today's Scripture: 1 Peter 5:6-7
Our family had just arrived in Liberia, West Africa, after a 10-hour flight. We had come for a three-year term, and our carry-on bags were heavy. Even our two-and-a-half-year-old had a stuffed backpack to carry. When we came out of the plane there were many offers from baggage handlers to help her with her bag, but she refused to give up her backpack. “I carry my bag,” she declared. That lasted for a while, until the wait to get through immigration and customs was too long and the weight of her backpack was too much. Then she finally allowed someone else to help her with the load.
Often, I am too much like my determined toddler. I am struggling with a load too heavy to carry, but I’m reluctant to give up control, or to admit that I need help. It’s my stuff, and I want to carry it myself. Yet I am anxious because I’m not sure I can handle the load. But the Lord invites me to give the burden to Him, to allow Him to carry it with me.
“Cast all your cares on him, for he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). God wants us to entrust our stuff to Him, confident that He knows just what to do. When we do, even though we are still dealing with the situation, we know that God will help us. He may give us wisdom to know how best to handle things. At other times He intervenes and changes the circumstance or the heart of another person. Or perhaps He sends help in the form of the right person to assist us.
It’s interesting that just before Peter tells us to give God our cares, he says, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand…” (v. 6). It is humbling to admit that we cannot do something on our own. Galatians 6:2 says we should bear each other’s burdens, but that can only happen if we each humble ourselves to let someone else help us. When we do accept help, there is a double blessing. We are blessed to have our load lightened, and someone else is blessed in helping us, by praying with us or lending a hand.
Reflect: Are you burdened with something that has you weighed down with anxiety? Do you need to turn that over to God? Is there another person you can share this burden with?
Prayer Starter:
Father, forgive me for being stubborn at times and refusing to accept your help. Keep reminding me that you are ready and able to take on every burden I carry.
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