Cast Your Burdens Upon the Lord
1 Peter 5:5-8
Life can often feel like an uphill battle. Between financial burdens, health problems, stressful relationships, and other challenges, many of us feel weighed down by the cares of this world. We were never meant to shoulder these burdens alone. We have a powerful promise in 1 Peter 5:7, “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” Psalm 55:22 tells us to, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be moved”. When we cast our cares upon the Lord, we are declaring that we need His help and believe He can handle the things that trouble us.
To “cast” our burdens on the Lord means, we press through challenges relying on His strength, trust Him to lead and guide us forward, and completely depend on Him to carry our burdens in His capable hands. But we cast only after humblingourselves -1 Peter 5:6-7, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” True humility is shown by our ability to cast our care upon God.
God Cares About Our Problem
God Is Bigger Than Our Problem
God Has His Perfect Timing
This work of casting can be so difficult that we need to use two hands to do it: the hand of prayer and the hand of faith. “Prayer tells God what the care is, and asks God to help, while faith believes that God can and will do it. Prayer spreads the letter of trouble and grief before the Lord, and opens all its budget, and then faith cries, ‘I believe that God cares, and cares for me; I believe that He will bring me out of my distress, and make it promote His own glory.’” (Spurgeon)
Discussion Guide
Was there ever a time in your life when you took a great burden that you were dealing with and gave it over to God? What happened? How are Christians to deal with stress, tension and hassles?
What specific anxiety or concern do you need to cast humbly on the Lord? What gets in your way? Why is it hard to trust Jesus with our worries? What does it mean to you that Jesus cares for you? How can we remind ourselves to give our worries to Jesus?
As people of God, Peter said we should clothe ourselves with humility. What does that mean? What does that look like? How can we practice humility in our daily lives? How can we pray for you?