1 Peter 5:6-7 encourages us to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He might exalt us in due time:
You see that colon up there? It means that whatever follows that colon, is going to explain or expound upon what preceded the colon. What follows that particular colon is; casting all your care on Him; for He cares for you.
I remember struggling with that first scripture. I wondered what it meant to humble yourself under His mighty hand of God, until I heard Rev Dr Chester Wright explain that about that little colon and how those two scriptures are connected and the second explains how to accomplish the first. He explained that verse 4 says God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble, and we can’t receive grace until we cast or cares on Him. God will resist us and withhold grace as long as we hold onto our cares.
When we care about something, it invades our thoughts, or at least that’s what happens to me. If I care about something I think about it often for maybe many days, months, or even years. I can worry and fret, and be anxious about those things i.e. finances, relationships, ministry, appearance, safety, freedom, etc
Humbling ourselves is releasing control from trying to control all of those things, and casting It on God. This is not a one time thing, but every time it comes up, we cast it on God until we have a Word from God to act or move on those things.
This is EXTREMELY difficult for me to do. I do not do well with this. As I stated, these things can be like a worm in my brain and even cause me to feel shame. Questions can start plaguing my mind.
Why am I not “farther along in my ministry?”
Why don’t I have the career that I want?
Why do I keep doing things to damage my relationship with my wife and children?
Why do I feel so behind? I’m almost 35, I should be farther along.
These are real thoughts that I have that can trigger shame in me, and if I don’t cast them on Jesus, I will go into, what I call, a shame spiral. Mark 4:19 “…the cares of this world…choke the Word, and it becomes unfruitful.” The Word of God is unfruitful in our lives when we allow cares to choke the Word, I believe that this is shame. Cares that are not cast on Jesus, can cause us to feel shame, which makes the Word unfruitful in our lives.
Cast your cares. If something is plaguing your mind, tell Jesus, “I can’t, but you can. I release control of this thing and give it to you.” If it helps, pretend like you’re throwing a ball while you’re praying this to get some physicality behind it.
I hope this helps.
I pray grace, mercy, and peace be unto you from God our Father, the Lord Jesus Christ.
If you have any questions or comments feel free to comment below, share this, like, or email me at doranjared@gmail.com
jareddoran 