Is any of the following weighing heavily on you?
Covid-19/Pandemic?
School/grades?
Family issues?
Home/food/clothes?
Friends/social life/acceptance?
Opposite sex/pressures?
Dangerous thoughts/habits?
Your health?
Injustices/discrimination?
General fear/phobias/death?
All of these are real issues. Whether you call them worries, anxieties, cares...We all have them. We can feel them, we can see them. And they are there everyday. No one is immune to struggle.
But let's take a look at what God's Word says about them:
"Casting all your cares upon Him, because He cares for you." I Peter 5:7
There's two facts that jump out from this Scripture that we'll focus on now:
God acknowledges that we do have anxieties. He lists some in Romans 8:35-39. They exist during our time on earth. Hunger, sickness, persecution. Side note: Even all that...the "worst case scenario" is impossible...that we could be separated from God. But God doesn't just acknowledge them. He understands them. Christ Himself experienced loss, abandonment, homelessness, betrayal, people talking behind His back, etc. He wasn't ever fearful or had anxiety, per se, but there were definitely things that weighed heavily on His heart. Christ, because He lived through it, is our intercessor, someone who can empathize with us.
Our anxieties are not for us to bear. When we do begin to obsess and worry and carry these anxieties ourselves, they not only become burdens, but they lead to other problems. They make us desperate, doubt, lost hope, fearful, weak...and all of these lead to sin. Wuh-woh. Instead, God asks that you give your worries to Him. He will give you rest. Read, if you will, Matthew 11:28-30.
Let's use an illustration—one I like to call, Backpack of Burdens.
Imagine life as a hike on a mountain. Some hikes are long, some are short. Some are hard, some are easier. But the goal is the same: get to the finish line, get to the top. The top in our case is, at the end, to be with Christ in eternity.
All good hikers wear backpacks…gotta be prepared, keep some things in there that will assist you. But in life, sometimes along the way, we pick things up and carry them in our backpacks that we really don’t need.
When we put fears, doubts, anxieties in our backpacks, they become burdens to us. They are like putting rocks in your backpack—heavy, bulky, and they tire us out. They begin to be the only thing you can think about and it seems to just be too much. The longer you hike and the more you carry, the more you feel like giving up.
But they don’t belong in our backpacks. It’s God intention that we carry the necessary supplies (faith, His Word, etc.) in there instead. They are much lighter and even give you strength. So instead, take those rocks and set up a memorial to remember the lesson, then move on. Give them to God. Cast your cares upon the Lord.
Some final thoughts:
What should you carry? Christ Himself. 2 Corinthians 4:8-11. The good news is this is not the end of the matter. You may feel persecuted or perplexed or hard-pressed...but it won't be the end of you. Not if you cast your cares on Him.
In fact, they are but a light affliction...a momentary issue to just cast away. Don't lose heart, they even give us lessons and an opportunity to glorify God. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18.
Take a listen to the amazing song by Lauren Daigle called "Inevitable". Inevitable means "certain to happen, unavoidable". Keep that in mind as you listen to the song.
Here's a graphic that you can download and use as a desktop/phone background or just something to save as a reminder.
When an anxiety pops up, write it down. Pray over it. Then crumple it up and "cast" it to God...your intercessor. Don't carry it with you.
Your Uth4Christ family is here with you. Should you need someone to pray with you and for you, you can leave a prayer request here.