Cast!

Cast!

‭1 Peter 5:7 AMP‬

[7] casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully]. [Ps 55:22]

Peter speaks from a place of personal experience. His name was not originally Peter, but Simon, which meant reed. He was a man given to fits of temper, and he would make impulsive decisions that mostly did not end well. At a time, his mother-in-law lay sick, but Jesus healed her. At a time when Jesus needed the support of his disciples, Simon went on to deny knowing Jesus, even calling down curses on himself just to support his lie. At a time too when it was unclear what was happening to Jesus, Simon decided it was best to go back to what he was skilled at, which is fishing. However, in all of the experiences listed above, at no time was it recorded that Jesus abandoned him, or left him to his own devices. 

That is the premise of the verse above. Simon was not one who could be trusted when the pressure came, but an encounter with Jesus would change his life, story and name. At a time when the cross became the pressing issue for Jesus, Simon understood who Jesus is and what he came to do, and that was the turning point for Simon, who then was named Peter. As it was then, so is it now. The cross is the starting point for the change that the verse above wants to make. How can I cast all my cares on One whose authority and power I do not recognise or submit to? Hos can He help to lighten a load I have not given to Him? He can only help when I have made a total surrender. As powerful as He is, He does not go against the exercise of my freewill. 

The verse above also speaks about ALL my cares, not just some. There is nothing too big or too small to hand over to Him. The life I have been given is not even mine to use as I please, but to spend in the pursuit of the purpose of the One who gave me the life. I also do not lay down all my cares in prayer, and then stand up from there and pick up my cares again. Once I have handed them over to Him, I leave them there. From personal experience, I have seen God at work. I have seen Him solve problems I did not even know I had, even when I took a different set of problems to Him. That is the amazing power of His wisdom, and His love for me which knows no limits. He waits to show Himself strong in your life too. Would you let Him? God's time of favour is here.