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].
Peter, a disciple of Jesus and the leading spokesman for the apostles, was writing generally to both Jewish and Gentile believers, who were living in exile, scattered across several cities outside Jerusalem. Just reflect on what this meant for these people: in distress due to their faith in Christ, and unsure if they would ever be able to return to their familiar environment. This gives a picture of the discomfort and inconvenience that may sometimes arise as a result of faith in Jesus. At no time does God promise that we will have perpetual blue skies; He warns us to prepare for tough times, but He adds the ever amazing comfort: He does not leave us alone at any time. We have the abiding presence of God as a bulwark and anchor for our souls, when things are really going bad. Does Jesus know you as His own?
Peter was now addressing elders of the church in the chapter from where the verse above is taken. The mandate was the same as it was to him. All who will identify with Jesus must be ready to suffer for Him, in order to also reign with Him. Peter was there as Jesus was treated as a common criminal. As Jesus hung on that tree, there was a prayer He prayed: "Father, unto thy hand I commit my spirit". He understood clearly that only in God was He truly safe and secure. This has to be my default setting too: i have the perfect example to emulate; I now have the foundation on which I can build my present and my future. I have a Father whose love and concern for me comes from a place of firsthand experience. He bore all my sin, so I could bear His nature.
If He could do this much for me, what else can He not do? If He could leave all His glory in heaven so He could walk in my shoes, what else can He not give up? Why do I have to bear burdens that He has taken on my behalf? Why should I hold on to things He has fully taken care of? Why should earthly, ephemeral things be able to take root in my heart and distract me from seeing God at work? This is the message of the verse above: I have a Father who invites me to lean on Him for everything I need. His shoulders are broad enough to take anything I can throw on Him. His heart is large enough to handle anything that all the inhabitants of the world throw at Him at the same time. He says I should cast ALL on Him, excepting nothing. He watches over me with tender mercies and love. I cannot help myself; He is sufficient for every need. God's time of favour is here.
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