Bible Reading: Ezekiel 33,34; 1 Peter 5
“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you” 1 Peter 5:7 (KJV)
The apostle Peter wrote this message to believers because he is aware of the challenges they were going through in their walk in God. Widespread persecution of christians were backed by the authorities in those days making it difficult to settle down and do anything meaningful with one’s life. However, Peter, who has seen it all, remained an example to all, admonishing all to remain consistent in their service to God.
Our heavenly Father cares for the afflictions of every one of his children and this has been emphasized throughout His word. Anxiety and worries will not do you any good in the course of service to God as these are capable of making one’s faith to fail. Paul admonished us in Philippians 4:6-7 (KJV), “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” All that is required of us is to admit, in humility of heart, our lack, and accept His gracious offer to cast all our cares on Him, knowing that He cares for us and is well able to give us help in time of need. When the cares and concerns of this world are given to the Lord in humility of heart, He pours into that life His peace that passes understanding, and we discover we have a godly wisdom, an enlarged faith, supernatural love, and His sufficient grace – despite the circumstances that hem us in on every side. But how do we cast our burdens on Him? How do we give Him our anxieties and concerns?
Well, it all comes back to trusting all that the Lord has promised in His precious Word, and expecting Him to fulfil His Word. We are to expect Him to answer our prayer, but He will do so in His time and in His way – for our greater benefit and for His greater glory. Remember again, He said He will never leave nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5).
The Lord is working in each of our lives from an eternal perspective and we are to develop the attitude that Christ demonstrated throughout His earthly life, as He submitted to the Father, “Thy will be done in my life,” was His heartfelt prayer. The Lord will always carry the burdens of those that approach Him with a spirit of trust and a heart of humility. And in His grace, He aligns our will to His will and the delights of His heart become our very own heartfelt longings.We need to come to a point when we humbly admit our inadequacy, before we can benefit from His super-sufficiency. We need to invite the Lord into every compartment of life and not exclude Him from any cherished sphere or withhold any embarrassing secret. We need to give the little problems we encounter that seem so insignificant, as well as the great burdens that weigh us down… and we need to entrust Him with any physical, material, and emotional burdens, as well as our spiritual trials and testings. Being called to cast all our anxieties on Him, does not mean giving Him selective burdens while withholding others. He cares about each compartment of life and can minister to every hurt, every difficulty, and every foolish mistake we make.
When anxiety is permitted to dominate a life, faith submits to fear, unbelief is substituted for a trusting heart, and dependence on our heavenly Father is replaced with prideful self-dependency. How important to know in our very heart that God cares more for our personal well-being than anyone else – including ourselves! The enemy of our soul whispers lies into our heart and questions the goodness of God and His faithfulness. The accuser of our soul is the devil, who roams around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour… and he delights to accuse us before our heavenly Father. He uses the same strategy to shipwreck our soul as he did in Eden, by whispering in our ear ‘Has God really said? Are ALL God’s promises true? Can you really trust His Word?’ Satan is the evil accuser of the brethren who attempts to prevent us from casting all our cares upon Him by twisting the Word of God and denying the truth. May we never doubt the integrity and truth of God’s Word, for what He has promised He will fulfil. May we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt us at the proper time – and may we cast ALL our anxiety on Him, because He cares for each one of His blood-bought children.
Prayer: Father, I thank You for the privilege You have given me to come to You. I receive grace to cast all my cares upon You today in Jesus name.
Bro. Onyema Aghanenu