Don’t Worry About It!

Don’t Worry About It!

IntroductionFirst Peter 5:7 contains the following exhortation: “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” These words are similar to those of King David in Psalm 55:22 where he writes, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.” In both passages, believers are encouraged to give our worries to the Lord, whose loving concern and sustaining power are available to us at all times. 

Human beings are well acquainted with worry. We worry about our job security, our physical appearances, our public images, our families, and our futures.  We also worry about sickness, death, and other critical concerns.  The Christians who received Peter’s letter, like many of us, had ample opportunity to worry.  They were going through tremendous trials and hardships.  They often endured persecution because of their faith in Christ.  Yet, in the midst of difficult times, Peter tells his readers, “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” 

Why Not Worry?
So why shouldn’t we worry?  Is Peter telling Christians to ignore the various troubles of life—to live in a state of denial?  Certainly not!  One verse later in First Peter 5:8 the apostle declares, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”  Thus, there are real things about which to be concerned.  Yet, we still are not to allow worry to consume us!  Why?  Let me offer three reasons.

1. Worry represents an improper focus.  Worry focuses our attention on our problems rather than on God.  When we worry, we sometimes forget that God is greater than any problem or trial and that he has promised never to leave or to forsake us (Hebrews 13:5, cf. Deuteronomy 31:6,8).
2. Worry keeps us from truly trusting God.  Casting our cares and worries upon the Lord is very much an act of trust.  When we do so: (1) we acknowledge our complete dependence on God and (2) we express our faith that God is fully able to handle our problems.
3. Worry does not change situations.  Jesus asked in Matthew 6:27, “Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?”  Worry is useless and unproductive because it does not improve the situations that we face.

Replacing WorryOkay, so what can we allow into our lives to replace worry?   I believe that there are at least three things that we need in our lives instead of worry.

1. Worship.  It is imperative that we replace worry with worship.  When our eyes are fixed on the Lord, everything else pales in comparison to Him.  It is very difficult to be overcome by anxiety and fear, when we occupy our thoughts with the Lord and His goodness.  Isaiah 26:3 declares, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”
2. Wisdom.  We must replace worrying about situations with seeking God for wisdom.  Such wisdom is always granted to the one who asks for it in faith (James 1:5-8).  Wisdom involves seeing things from God’s perspective, seeing things as they really are.  Seeing things from God’s perspective combats fear in our lives because when we do so, we immediately realize that He is more than able to handle our problems.
3. Weapons.  Finally, we need to displace our fears and anxieties with the vast arsenal of weapons giving to us by God.  We are told in 2 Corinthians 10:4 that “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal (or earthly), but mighty in God for the pulling down of strongholds.”  Ephesians 6 encourages believers to “put on the full armor of God.”  We are equipped with everything that we need to survive in these perilous times.  We must therefore, appropriate God’s provisions through prayer and through obedience to His Word.

ConclusionSo finally, what does it really mean to cast our cares upon the Lord?  Well, in a nutshell, it means to have faith in God.  If you are filled with worry, anxiety or fear on today, then go to the Lord in prayer.  Cast your cares upon him and leave those cares on the altar.  You’ve got to trust God.  He can handle your problems much better than you can.  I invite your comments.

December 12, 2010 Posted by Dr. Wilfred Graves Jr.