Read 1 Peter 5:6-7, Casting

Verses six and seven go together.  The command to humble ourselves before God is modified or explained by, casting all your care upon Him.  We don’t take matters in our own hands and think positively about how we can handle our problems.  He cast these concerns on Him, something He commands us to do (Heb. 4:16).  Going our own way is a means by which we insult God.  And if we do this where others can see then we fail to proclaim the praises of Him who called (us) out of darkness into His marvelous light (2:9).

This is the same principle that is espoused in 4:19.  In the midst of our trials we commit our souls to God in doing good.  We trust Him to help us to accomplish His will in the trial and not to succumb to the lusts of men.  In the context of 1 Peter it is critical that we trust God for what we need to obey Him in our trials.  Otherwise we cannot declare His praises through our honorable conduct (2:9).  Further we cannot speak of how much we hope in Him if, in fact, we don’t hope in Him (3:15).

Do not miss the phrase in v6, in due time.  God is never late in the issue of exalting the humble or humbling the exalted.  Everything God does has perfect timing, particularly those things that have to do with glorifying His Son. In due time Christ died for the ungodly (Rom. 5:6).  In due time God sent His Son to be the ransom (1 Tim. 2:6).  Remember how Mary and Martha both told Jesus, if only you had been here (John 11:21,32).  Moses thought he was ready to lead at 40, and did not think he could lead at 80.  For God it was exactly the opposite, and God’s timing was perfect.

So let us be casting our cares on Him.  What are these cares?  They are the things in life that can take our attention away from God.  They choke out the word (Lk. 8:14).  They leave one unprepared for Christ’s return (Lk. 21:34).  Martha, Jesus said, had too many cares so that she could not take time to sit at Jesus’ feet (Lk. 10:41).  These cares are not necessarily evil things, but they become evil because they turn us from Christ to an idol, to ourselves and our own fleshly strength.  Thus we are to cast them by the Lord, casting them through prayer as Paul said in Phil. 4:6-7: be anxious for nothing but pray with thanksgiving!

This whole way of thinking is founded on a grand truth: He cares for you!  Let us not be those disciples who thought Jesus didn’t care for them, even when He was on the boat (Mk. 4:38).  The mighty hand of God is not a hand of cruelty; it is a hand for caring.  There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, Who rides the heavens to help you, and in His excellency on the clouds.  The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms; He will thrust out the enemy from before you, and will say, ‘Destroy!’ (Deut. 33:26-27).