Releasing Your Anxieties on Christ

‍ ‍“You can throw the whole weight of your anxieties upon Him, for you are His personal concern.”

1 Peter 5:6b (Phillips)

Are you troubled with anxiety? Anxious thoughts have a way of growing within us when we hold on to them. You may want to let them go but just don’t know how. Every time you try, the worry seems to creep back in until you feel anxious again. Anxiety can knock us off center. It distorts our reality until we view everything and everyone from the scratched lenses of our own suffering. How can you find your center in Christ when you’ve experienced such pain? Whether it is from past failures, current pressures or future worries, anxiety can overwhelm our soul.

Peter offers us wise counsel for dealing with the hidden hurts of our hearts and minds. In fact, with one single action we can deal with all our anxious thoughts - past, present, and future! How? Peter says, “You can throw the whole weight of your anxieties upon Him, (once and for all), for you are His personal concern.” 1 Peter 5:6b (Phillips)

That phrase once and for all comes from the Greek word for “throw” or “casting” as in other translations. The tense of the verb denotes an act done “once and for all” throwing the whole weight of your anxieties on Christ!  Wow! Talk about unloading a burden! Wouldn’t you like to be free of the weight of your anxious thoughts? The good news is that, in Christ, you can! Throw the whole weight of them on Christ! He bore our burdens on Calvary! At the cross, He died for all our hurts, habits, and hang-ups! When Peter tells us to throw the whole weight of (all your cares) upon Him, it means the whole of your care, not every anxiety as it arises. One scholar explained it like this: “According to 1 Peter 5:7, we must once and for all give all of our cares—past, present, and future—to the Lord. We must not hand them to Him piecemeal, keeping those cares that we think we can handle ourselves. If we keep "the little cares" for ourselves, they will soon become big problems! Each time a new burden arises, we must by faith remind the Lord (and ourselves) that we have already turned it over to Him.” (Warren Wiersbe)

Peter experienced this in his own life with Christ. He witnessed firsthand how much Jesus cared for him when Jesus healed his mother-in-law; told him how to get a great catch of fish; helped him pay his taxes; invited him to walk on water; healed the man whose ear Peter had cut off; restored him in service after a great personal failure; and even delivered him from prison! There was no problem too great for Jesus’ power to handle and no hurt too small for His concern. Why? Peter says, it’s simple – because Jesus cares! You are His personal concern!In the language of the New Testament this means “watchful care out of personal interest and affection.” The Amplified Bible translates it like this: “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.”

Why not do that right now? Release all your anxieties to Christ. Like the old hymn says, “Take your burdens to the Lord and leave them there!”

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To read this devotional online or catch up on past ones, visit kerryshook.org/blog.

Another important part of your daily devotional is spending time with God in prayer. The Woodlands Church Prayer Board lists prayer requests submitted by our members and provides a way to send them some encouragement by using a button on the page to let them know that you prayed for them. Whether you use the Prayer Board or pray from your heart, the goal is to build the habit of incorporating prayer into your quiet time.

Need prayer yourself? Let us know by submitting a prayer request on the Woodlands Church Prayer Board.