Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. These words from Peter come on the heels of his call for us to humble ourselves (1 Peter 5:5-7). In the act of humbling ourselves, we submit to God and place ourselves under “His mighty hand.” We commit ourselves to looking at life from His perspective rather than from our own limited and fallible point of view. As a result, we begin to see things as they really are rather than simply as we are.
This doesn’t mean we become omniscient because we have other limitations that come into play, but it does mean we are able to see many things in a way that we were incapable of before. It’s something like being in an observatory. The skylight opens and we see a sky full of stars and planets. On a clear night, we are able to point out constellations, see satellites and meteors. But when we look through the telescope, we see things at a completely different magnitude. Everything is in clearer while some things that were previously unseen are now seen. We are also able to understand to a greater degree how spectacular and breathtakingly unfathomable the universe is. I think this is something of what happens when we humble ourselves before God.
Peter connects this with placing the entirety of our burdens upon Him—because He cares for us. The disturbing thing about most of our troubles, worries and anxieties is the element of the unknown. We can’t see how, and even if, things are going to work out. This is true for people living without God and well as people with God who in our little analogy are looking through the telescope. Despite the additional magnification, there are still some things we can’t see and this is one. But what we can do is take a good, long, detailed look at the love of God. We can zoom in on the birds of the air or the flowers of the field and note His care for them (Matthew 6:26ff). We can read the words of a man imprisoned for Jesus as he tells his recipients, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God, and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).
When humility looks at the love of God, powerful things happen!
I heard a man (I believe it was Ted Kell) say that ultimately there are two things we need to know in life. The first is that someone cares for us and the second is that someone is in control. He went on to note how the cross tells us God loves us and the resurrection shows us that the One who loves us in control. As we humble ourselves under His mighty hand and zoom our telescope in on the cross and the empty tomb, these truths becomes as clear as day. When we spend too much time looking at ourselves, others or our problems, we lose sight of these twin truths and anxiety gets the best of us. That’s why we are to place ourselves under the mighty hand of God and then give Him our burdens. It doesn’t work any other way.
Humble yourselves and you can place all your burdens on Him because you will see how great is His care for you.
A Taste of Grace with Bruce Green 