Casting Cares

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

I Peter 5:7

This is probably one of my favorite verses with one of my favorite messages in the Bible. It has been a comfort to me when I’m feeling overwhelmed or struggling with a circumstance going on in my life. I’ve relied on it and quoted it often, paying little attention to the verses around it. It is a powerful verse that can stand alone with a powerful message of God’s love and care for us. However, after studying through I Peter recently, I can say that I have a deeper understanding of what it takes to cast my cares upon Him and why it is so important.

If you follow my Facebook page, Crystal L. Ratcliff, then you may have seen the latest video about Truth Journaling. In that video, I share how I study my Bible. I read entire chapters, sometimes books, and then focus in on a group of verses for the day (watch the video for more details 😊). It is this way of studying that helps me keep verses in context and consider the whole message.

The first four verses of I Peter chapter five are directed to the elders, or leaders, of the church. Followed by direction for the “younger” to submit to the elders. Peter adds to that by saying, “…be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: For God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:” (vs. 5-6).

It’s no accident that this verse about casting our cares upon the Lord comes right after instruction about humility. It takes humility to cast our cares upon Him. We have to admit that we can’t handle the situation on our own. We have to admit that we need Him. And we have to admit that we don’t “deserve better.” As Christians, we can sometimes think we shouldn’t have to go through a difficult time, a certain trial or affliction, but Peter reminds us that “…knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world” (vs. 9).

It also takes faith to cast all our cares upon the Lord. It takes believing, trusting that God is able and desires to handle our cares—no matter how small and insignificant we think they are. We must trust that there is a greater purpose in those trials, and God is working His perfect plan in our life.

Why must we cast our cares upon the Lord?

“…because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” (vs. 8). Satan is looking for the weak, the lonely. When we are suffering, we often withdraw from our fellow believers. We think no one understands. We feel alone. We start to compare our circumstances to others, feel sorry for ourselves, think we deserve better, and allow doubts of God’s goodness and love for us to fill our minds. We become weak in our faith and vulnerable to attack.

Instead when we are facing a time of suffering, we need to be surrounded by God’s people to encourage us, to keep us accountable, and to strengthen us. It is no accident that this chapter opens with verses instructing the leaders of our churches and our responsibility to submit to them. It is God’s design for churches to be places for encouraging and exhorting one another in the faith.

And finally, there is a promise of eternal hope in our suffering:

“But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you” (vs. 10).

Do you need to cast your cares upon the Lord? Not just some of them. Not just the big ones. All of them. Cast them all upon Him and rest in the promises of His Word!