The art of casting all your cares on God.
By Tyler Edwards
Do you know what one the most commonly ignored commands in all of Scripture is? "Don't worry."
Do you know what the most common command in Scripture is? "Do not be afraid."
The Bible tells us not to worry or be afraid, but you take one look at our culture, and you see how closely we hold onto those commandments.
It's understandable, actually. Not worrying is easier said than done. We are all anxious about something: Relationships, finances, health, the future. We get stressed with work, with responsibilities, with decisions.
We might use different words for it, but it all boils down to one thing: fear.
We have lots of fears. We are afraid to make the wrong decision. We fear what we don't know. We fear what we can't change. When we run out of reasonable things to worry about, we start fabricating unreasonable ones. It's like our minds are little worry factories manned by little worker elves that never sleep. We mass-produce anxiety 24/7.
Worrying Without Reason
So over and over, God tells us not to be afraid. He commands us not to worry. Jesus doesn't say, "Don't worry without good reason or don't worry unless it makes you feel better." He just says don't.
To help us obey the command, God tells us how to stop worrying. In Luke, He says "Trust in me. For if I take care crass of birds, how much more will I take care [of] you my children?" In 1 Peter He says to cast our worry onto Him. To give it over to Him.
This is not battle you were ever meant to fight on your own.
For many of us, giving our anxiety over to God feels like an almost insurmountable task. Our issues with worry and anxiety are beyond our own ability to handle. We need to address these issues with friends, and perhaps seek professional counseling. There is nothing wrong with admitting you need others to help you with your worry. That is not
[a] battle you were ever meant to fight on your own, and the sooner you seek help, the sooner you can be free of it.
When you live a life free from worry, you're living in the full truth of who God is. You're living under the assumption that He is in control, He cares and He can do something about your circumstances.
The Response to Worry
In the church we talk about faith a lot.
Faith and doubt, it's always those two together. But doubt isn't the opposite of faith. Not really. The opposite of faith is fear. That's why God commands us not to do it.
We don't need to be afraid because God loves us. He promised to take care of us. He never promises there will be no pain but He does promise to come back and to take that pain away.
How do we overcome worry? We need to equip ourselves with a proper understanding of God.
1. Equip yourself with the knowledge of who God is.
Is God good? Is God all-powerful? Does God love you? Will God take care of you? If you believe the answer to these are yes then our reasons to worry drop significantly. It's a trust issue.
