1 Peter 5:7 – Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. (NLT)

Almost 60 years ago when I was a young child, my father supported our family by working shifts in an auto parts manufacturing plant. When my dad worked nights or afternoons, he slept during part of the day. I internalized a rule, "Don't bother your father."

Recently, I was startled to discover how I had continued to keep that rule in my relationship with God. My old habit was to keep matters I believed I could take care of by myself from God. (I was missing the fact that He knew about them anyway.) In a discussion of today's verse, a friend defined "all your worries and cares" with "If it matters to you, it matters to God." My friend's definition caused me to rethink, because I finally understood that my self-sufficient attitude brought only futile, frustrated stress.

For things and people that I value, yet feel helpless about, I am learning to turn in trust to Christ, name the concern, intercede, ask for help, and wait with hope.

Peter wrote today's Scripture verse at the conclusion of a letter to Christians who were suffering, in order to encourage them. During the three years when Peter had lived and worked with Jesus, he witnessed firsthand the powerful, intimate, loving care of the Lord. With absolute confidence in God's love, thirty years after Christ's resurrection, he wrote this instruction about "all your worries and cares".

1 Peter 5:7 – Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully. (AMP)

Is there a worry or care you could turn in at the throne of grace today? Will you, in trust, give the burden to God Most High, Sovereign of the universe, believing how much you matter to Him?

Prayer: Father in heaven, help us, we pray in the name of Jesus our Lord, to live carefree before You, ever trusting Your all-powerful love. Amen.

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About the author:

Pat Bell <llebpat@gmail.com>
Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada
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