1 Peter 5:7
“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”
There comes a time in everyone’s life when the load that they carry seems so heavy that they are about ready to explode. It is in these times when you feel that nobody can help or understand what you are going through. It is in these times when people often make drastic mistakes with their decisions and life.
Fortunately, for the Christian, you have someone you can go to Who can help you carry that load. God says, “Casting all your care upon him…” The word “casting” is literally throwing your cares upon the LORD. In other words, you don’t have to worry about asking God if He will help you, He is telling you to boldly come and throw it upon Him so that He can carry your load. God shows us several cares that He wants to help you carry.
First, He wants to help you carry the care of leadership. God says in verse 2, “Feed the flock of God which is among you…” The answer is not becoming the type of leader who forcefully leads because you can’t get people to follow you. The answer is to throw your leadership problems upon God. God can help the leader lead if they will simply ask for His help. You don’t have to use your position as a trump card to force someone to follow you. You don’t have to carry the pressures of leadership all by yourself. All you need to do is go to God and cast those pressures upon Him and ask for His help.
Second, He wants to help you carry the care of followship. It’s very interesting that after God talks to the leader that He says in verse 5, “Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder…” There are times when followers don’t feel the leader truly understands their plight. It is in these times when you are to submit to your leader, but run to God and ask for His intervention. The answer to being misunderstood by leadership is not rebellion. The answer to being misunderstood by leadership is doing right, and going to the One Who can work on your leader’s heart. God is the only One Who can truly change the follower’s situation. You may feel completely misunderstood and helpless, but God truly wants to help you carry the load and fix the situation.
Third, He wants to help you carry the care of influence. There will be times when both the leader and the follower truly want to do more, but they don’t know how to increase their influence. It is in these times when God says in verse 6, “…that he may exalt you in due time:” There will come a time in your life when you may desire to have more influence so you can do more for God. You may feel that you are trapped where you are and don’t see anyway that you can help more people. It is in these times when you need to cast your desire to be used in a greater way upon God. You don’t have to carry that burden by yourself. You don’t have to try and work things out yourself. All you have to do is to simply go to God and tell Him of your desire to be used in a greater way.
Are you carrying the pressures of these cares by yourself? Let me encourage you to cast them upon God because “he careth for you.” Don’t go another minute carrying these pressures. Daily run to the throne of God and let Him carry them for you. When you cast them on God, that means you walk away without any pressure on yourself. Don’t tell God about your cares and walk away still carrying them; instead, tell God your cares and give them to Him, and let Him carry them for you. This is how you can live stress-free.