"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you" (1 Peter 5:6-7).

I have lost count of how many times I have prescribed this remedy to others who were burdened by anxious and excessive care. But the other day, I found myself falling into the same malady, and having to come to this same rock to suck honey out of it for the refreshment of my soul. It is the care of the church. It is not my church but the church of Christ, but still I am set as a steward over it, and the care of it threatened to overwhelm me by piercing my heart and wounding my soul. I had to learn afresh what it is to cast my care upon the Lord. With this re-learning comes a realisation that it is a remedy that is easier to prescribe than to follow.

What is it to cast our cares upon God?

A Command

Firstly, it is obviously not a magic potion to be taken passively. Merely reading or hearing the verse and saying, "I know," is not going to be very helpful. The apostle Peter, was alluding to Psalm 55:22, which reads: "Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved" (Ps 55:22). What is not so clear in 1 Peter 5:7, is clear in the Psalter. We must actively and deliberately cast our care or burdens upon the Lord. It is commanded that we do so!

A Mental & Spiritual Exercise

But secondly, we must realise that it is a mental and spiritual exercise. It is not a simple physical exercise of unloosening a burden on our back and casting it away. That would be easy to follow, and the relief would be immediately felt. But no, it is a mental and spiritual exercise that requires some discipline and effort.

Humility Needed

Thirdly, this spiritual exercise cannot be carried out without humility. We must humble ourselves before the mighty hand of God. We must not think ourselves to be greater than we really are, "for if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself" (Gal 6:3). As such, we must not imagine that we can solve every problem that comes our way by our own might or wisdom. We must acknowledge our inability and foolishness (cf. Prov 3:5). We must learn to submit our problems to the Lord’s care.

Acknowledge God’s Sovereignty

Fourthly, in casting our cares upon the Lord, we must recall and acknowledge that God is on His throne sovereignly ruling not only the universe but also the minutest details in our lives. As such, we must confess that whatever has come upon us did not come by accident or even by what we did or did not do. We have a responsibility to be obedient to God’s Word, but when we have done what is within our power to do, we must remember that "it is God that giveth the increase" (1 Cor 3:7). Therefore, what burden may come into our lives must come by the mighty hand of God who is ordering all things for His own glory and for the good of His saints, whom He loves.

Define the Burden

Fifthly, in order to cast our burdens upon the Lord, we should be able to describe the burden to some degree. Is it a personal burden, a family burden, or a church burden? Is it about ourselves or about others? Is it about the present or about the future? Defining or describing our burden is essential to casting our cares upon the Lord. The best way to describe your burden is to verbalise it (audibly or in writing): I am unable to meet up to the expectation of my boss; I am troubled that my mother-in-law is interfering with our family affairs; I am disappointed that the Lord has not given us a child; I am weighed down by the demands of work and the long hours; I am grieved by the relationship strain I cannot seem to mend; I am discouraged by the low attendance at the means of grace; etc.

Commit the Burden to the Lord by Prayer

Sixthly, the exercise of casting our burden upon the Lord is completed with prayer. We must not only think about the burden or we will be overwhelmed by it. We must cast our burden upon the Lord by committing it to His care and resigning the matter to His hand. We must then trust Him to bring to pass what is best according to His grace and wisdom.

Cease

Therefore, seventhly, when we have committed the matter to the Lord, we must cease to mull over it. Like the friends of the apostle Paul, we must cease worrying, saying, "The will of the Lord be done" (Acts 21:14). This is easier said than done, for the temptation will always be there to be troubled over a matter outstanding. But we must resist the temptation and seek God’s grace not to allow the matter to rob us of our joy in Christ.

Conclusion

God cares. He cares for all those who are His children in Christ. These are the ‘righteous’ whom God will not suffer to be moved (Ps 55:22). He is willing and able to remove the burdens from our souls; and He is able to set all things aright in His sight—which is far more important than our fallible sight.