What It Means to "Cast" Our Anxieties

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Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken. (Psalm 55:22)

Last week, we opened up about the realities of stress and anxiety related to our work. We noted that there are a whole host of workplace issues and experiences that contribute to our ever-increasing levels of stress. Many of these things are out of our control. And that is precisely what causes us anxiety. On the surface, there appears to be nothing we can do to remedy this unfortunate reality, but as we began to explore yesterday, that is simply not true. The Bible speaks extensively about the issue of anxiety, offering us practical ways to relieve the stress in our lives.

First, as we saw previously, we must recognize and confront our anxiety. Today, we will look at the second thing Scripture commands us to do with our anxiety: cast it upon the Lord. In 1 Peter 5:7, the Apostle Paul instructs us to, “Cast all your anxiety on Him because he cares for you.” Once we have confronted the realities of the stress and worry that comes as a result of our work, we are not left to carry our anxiety alone. In His graciousness, the Lord has invited us to cast those anxieties upon him. Why? Because he cares for us. If the God of the universe cared enough about our sin to sacrifice His Son on a cross, surely he is capable of caring for whatever is stressing us today. When we find ourselves unable to cast our anxieties upon the Lord, let us remember that He carried the far greater burden of our sins all the way to the cross. For as Jesus promises, “his yoke is easy and his burden is light” (Matthew 11:30). And, in some mysterious way, through this radical exchange, God takes our worry and stress away from us once we have cast it upon him.

The act of casting our anxiety upon God is not merely cathartic. When we confess to the Lord our sins, struggles, and anxieties, He takes those burdens upon himself. They are no longer ours to bear. We are given peace, all because of God’s unfathomable care for us.

So when the stress of job security or the anxiety of looming deadlines or shrinking profits comes upon us, we are ready for the fight. First, we recognize the stress and confront it. Then, while prostrate before the Lord, we cast our worries and trepidation, laying it all before our immensely compassionate God. For there, in Him, we shall begin to find true relief and peace.