Recap
Title: No Worries! God is for you
Key Text: 1 Peter 5:7
There are many challenges in life. One of the big issues in the UK right now is the rising cost of living – energy prices, food cost, rising interest rates, inflation and the list can go on. Our mental health is increasingly affected, due to worry and anxiety. Worry steals our joy, our peace, and our confidence.
1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” We need to remember that God is for you and you do not need to worry.
Give your worries to God (1 Peter 5:7; Psalm 55:22; Matthew 6:25a; John 21)
Give ALL your worries to God (I1 Peter 5:7; Psalm 34:17; Philippians 4:6; Psalm 138:3; Philippians 4)
Give all your worries to God because He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7; Matthew 6:26; 1 John 4:9-10; Deuteronomy 31:8; Isaiah 43:1-2; 1 John 5:4)
Apply
Give your worries to God
1 Peter 5:7 tells us to cast. This implies that we must throw it out or to transfer it. We are encouraged to throw off our worries so that we do not feel burdened. It is so easy for us to nurse our worries and be subject to nagging doubts. Our worries can take us captive and hold us back from all that God has in store for us.
When Jesus told his disciples to cast their nets in John 21, he was asking them to throw the nets out into the sea again. When the disciples did what he said, they had a miraculous catch. When we cast or throw something off, we are lightening our load. When we feel burdened or overwhelmed, we need to transfer our worries and fears to God.
Psalm 55:22 “Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you: he will never let the righteous be shaken”. This is a promise that God has for you today so will you take hold of it? Will you cast your worries onto the Lord?
Matthew 6:25a “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear…”.
We cannot add a single minute or hour to our lives by worrying, but we can subtract from the length of our lives when we worry. Instead, let us focus on giving our worry and concerns to God. Our second point is
Give ALL your worries to God
1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you”. God does not want us to cast 20% or 50% of our worries onto Him, but He wants us to cast 100% of our worry, anxieties, and burdens on him.
Psalm 34:17 says “The righteous cry out, and the Lord delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
When we give all worries or troubles to the Lord, then the Lord delivers us from all our worries and troubles. In his book God’s great promises, WTH Richards wrote “Cast the whole of your care - all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all on him. Stop being in control of your life. Do not hold on, Let go and let God”
The bible tells us to give all our worries and tells us how to do this - Phil 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
We give our worries to God through prayer. When we pray, we are acknowledging our dependence on God our father. God hears us when we call to him. so let us not waste our time worrying, rather let us use this time to call to him in prayer. Ps 138:3 says “When I called, you answered me; you greatly emboldened me” – God gave the psalmist courage and confidence.
Philippians 4 also tells us to present our prayers with thanksgiving. Let us not only focus on our worries but let’s be thankful for what we have or for what God has already done for us. When we are thankful and worship God, our worry diminishes.
Give all your worries to God because He cares for you
The second part of 1 Peter 5:7 says God cares for us. The reason we are encouraged, to cast our anxieties onto God, is because he loves us.
What are your worries, how do they affect you? God shows us through the bible how he cares for us. Consider the Israelites as they travelled from Egypt, or the Prophet Elijah when he thought his life was over and yet God gave him food and rest when he needed it most.
Matt 6:26 “Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
1 John 4:9-10 “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins”.
Deuteronomy 31:8 “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be discouraged”.
Isaiah 43:1-2 “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
This scripture is a constant reminder that I am not alone whatever I am facing. What do you hold on to when you are struck with fear or worry? Do you have a scripture that you stand on? If you have not had the experience of knowing God’s love, you can ask God to show you his love now so that you too can experience his love and know how much he cares for you.
God alone can deal with the past, the present and the future. He who is concerned about the falling sparrow and is attentive to the young ravens when they cry, how much more does He care for us!
If we are standing firm in our faith, then we cannot hold onto our worries. We cannot give 50% of our worries over to God and hold onto the rest. If we worry, we are not trusting God or his promises. When we worry, we imply we do not believe he will see us through. Corrie Ten Boom the famous Jewish holocaust survivor said, Worry does not empty tomorrow of its troubles, it empties today of its strength.
1 John 5:4 states ‘for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith’.
Faith prays and eliminates worry. Faith conquers fear and worry. Faith says, like Job, I know my redeemer lives!
