Maybe you are feeling disappointed or grief. Maybe it’s an intense anger you’re experiencing or loss.
Perhaps you’ve found yourself stuck in the saddle of loneliness without any real way to get out.
We all experience times of lonelinss, pain, heartache, and loss. But what we do with it is so foundational to our spiritual walks.
What Does it Mean to Cast Your Cares on the Lord?
I admit to you that all of my Christian life I had heard the term “Cast your anxiety on the Lord for He cares for you” found in 1 Peter 5:7, but I never knew what it meant.
Did it mean I cast my line like a fishing analogy and put my line into the water, hoping to catch a fish? Some peace or grace somewhere along the way would take hold of me somehow?
I mean, how do you REALLY give all your problems to God, anyway?!
In order to find out what it really means to cast your cares on the Lord and, more than that, to do it, we have to understand a few things…
First, we need to understand that we cannot come to God on our own.
We can do nothing apart from Christ
It is GOD that seeks us not the other way around. We never just wake up one morning and say, “You know, I think I’m going to find out who this God guy is and follow Him.”
We are selfish creatures constantly stuck in our minds on our own little kingdoms we create for ourselves. It is God who first seeks us. He chases us. He comes to us.
It’s always Christ doing the initiating and here in this verse, you have the perfect example of that.
In essence, He’s calling us to Him. He’s saying, “I love you. I care about you. I see your concerns and no matter how trivial they may seem to others, I care. Why? Because I made you. I formed you in your mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13). “I carried you through trial after trial, heartache after heartache. I’ve been there with you all along and I’m here now. Won’t you trust me with this problem too? I’ve been so faithful with all your other problems. Come to me. Cast your cares on me. Let ME carry this heavy load for you. Let ME take some pressure off you. Let me help you.”
He’s calling us to put our faith and trust in Him and in order to do that…
We must know Him
Every time you sit down on the couch or a chair, you trust that the chair is going to hold you.
You don’t even think about it really. You don’t stand there debating whether or not it will hold you, you just sit down. The chair has always held you in the past. You trust it.
Compare that to my boat story.
When I was a little girl, I was in a boat, and it capsized at night, and I almost drowned. It was such a traumatic experience for me that I refuse to go on any boat. I just won’t do it.
Experience has taught me that I can’t trust boats. But I can sit in a chair. 🙂
Now think about God. Is He more like my boat experience or a comfy chair?
Think about all the times in your life where He’s been there for you in a problem or situation. He’s never once let you down. Humans will fail us, truly, but God never will.
You know Him. You know He will take care of you. You know He’s always there for you. You know He cares for you, even when the world doesn’t. He’s there. Your most loyal best friend.
If you’re new to being a Christian or maybe you still don’t trust Him, get to know Him through His Word. Go over His attributes – the things that make Him God, the characteristics that he is.
You can find those trainings here:
The more you know Him and understand Him, the more you can put yourself in His loving hands and know that no matter how challenging or difficult the situation is, He’s already got an answer waiting for you. Do you trust Him? Then it’s just a matter of handing the situation over to Him.
Give Him everything
There are times when I’m just struggling with a massive problem and I come across the passage to cast my cares on Him.
He’s calling me to, reminding me to, and so I walk over from my study desk to my bed and I just get on my knees, my elbows on the bed, and just bow my heart and soul to Him and vent (Psalm 62:8).
I just really let it all out. This is how I’m feeling, this is why, this is how come it’s not working, this is how everything is going wrong.
I just vent.
No hidden agendas, no pretenses, just full honesty, pouring out my soul to my best friend. And I feel better!
I got it all out. I feel heard, cared for, listened to. And everything is better.
Maybe the situation hasn’t yet changed, but I have. I’m no longer struggling with it. I know He will handle it. I just need to give it to Him and stop carrying the burden all on my own.
He takes care of me. He loves me. He doesn’t want for us to unnecessarily suffer. He wants to be the man, as it were, and carry our books for us like in school.
A guy offers to carry our books or our backpack. In that sense, He wants to do the same for us. But we have to let Him, not being prideful or stubborn, but humble and meek. Giving Him EVERYTHING!
All our hopes, fears, dreams, concerns, everything. Why? Because He cares for us.
This trial, this concern, this hope or dream you’re holding onto so hard, He wants to help carry it. Let Him carry your books, dear friend. Give Him everything. Trust Him. He will not fail you!
