Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you (1 Peter 5:7 KJV)

Since worries are a faithful companion to life on earth and can weigh heavily on our hearts, managing our cares and anxieties is an essential skill for a healthy spiritual life. By quoting the Psalmist( Ps. 55:22), Peter reminds us of God’s instructions for handling our worries in life “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. “ This devotional examines the meaning of this text and how we can apply it practically.

The term “casting” uses a metaphor of someone carrying a load, who takes it off and forcefully places it on something or someone else. Therefore two distinct but related ideas are embedded in this term: transfer of burden and the use of force or energy. 

The load or burden in this metaphor is our cares, anxieties, or worries in life. As burdens, our concerns weigh on our hearts. This weight is the pressure or responsibility to meet the demands of the situation and the associated fears of pain or suffering if those demands are not met. As a load presses down on the neck of someone carrying them, the responsibility and the concerns of life’s challenges weigh down our hearts. 

But the weight of our worries is transferrable. In the abstract sense, this transfer puts our anxieties upon God. Rather than embracing the pressure of responsibility to meet that need or the fears of pain, we transfer the weight to God. Please remember that these are spiritual matters. Just as sin, a spiritual entity, was transferred to Jesus, our anxieties can be transferred to Him when we adopt the transfer attitude in our hearts.

Trust is the spiritual machinery for transferring the weights of our cares over to the Lord. And when we trust Him, we depend on His character and ability to help us. And what is this character? He cares for us. He loves us and can do exceeding, abundantly, above all we ever need. We have someone who cares about us and can handle any situation. Furthermore, when we trust Him, we forcefully place our anxieties upon Him. Please note that  trusting God is not abdicating our responsibility or denying the reality of the problems before us. Instead, it allows our Father to handle it; if He asked us to call Him Father, He knows the responsibility that comes with that title, and He delights in fulfilling that role.

His invitation is open to you—cast your cares upon Him, for He cares for you.

What is the meaning of “casting your cares” upon the Lord?

Apply the Word

He only handles the cares we cast upon Him; therefore, we will only see His miraculous power when we trust Him in the situation; otherwise, we will carry our cares and bear the burdens ourselves. Let Him be Father, and do what Fathers do—let Him care about you.

Thank the Father for the blessing of caring for us.

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