It’s likely something is keeping you up at night. If not last night, you probably don’t have to think very far back to remember the last time you couldn’t sleep because anxious thoughts and worries kept your mind racing. Perhaps you’ve tried counting sheep but your mind is so revved up you keep losing count. Relying on sleeping pills, taking a drink, or sleeping with the TV on to try and “take the edge off” doesn’t work in the long run. You need peace, and that’s a gift from Jesus. So, how do you put the X in anxiety and live in the peace that He has given?
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. -1 Peter 5:6-7
1. Humble Yourself
Here’s a revelation: anxiety isn’t your giant, it’s the shadow cast by your true giant; a symptom of an issue with deeper roots. Humbly ask God to help you uncover what’s underneath your anxiety. Maybe you’re like me, and you struggle with control. Maybe it’s fear, unrealistic expectations, or negative self-talk.
2. Cast Your Anxieties on Him
The word “cast” means to permanently relocate and object from one place to another. There’s only one other place this word is used in the Bible. It’s in Luke 19:35 when the disciples “cast” their coats on the borrowed donkey that Jesus will ride into Jerusalem before his crucifixion. The disciples literally threw their coats onto the donkey. When Peter uses the same word, he is implying that we are to throw our worries onto God. We are to relocate our worries and anxieties from our mind to the hands of Jesus – permanently. The disciples never expected to get their coats back. Likewise, we are to leave our worries and anxieties with Jesus and not snatch them back. To do so is to quash our humility and in essence say, “Never mind, Jesus. I’ve got this. I can handle it better than you can.” What pride and arrogance!
Jesus cares for you! Humble yourself and give him the root causes of your worry and anxiety. Relocate it from your mind to His hands and leave it there! And experience the peace that only Jesus can give!
Ryan Smallwood
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