Friday, October 3, 2014
1 Peter 5:6-7 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
BRING IT TO THE BOSS
When worries surround us, one of the greatest blessings we have is being able to share our worries with other people. But sometimes that doesn't help. Our closest friends and confidants may not have the answers. Or their advice may fail. Sometimes they're just not there to listen. That's why Peter counsels the Christians of Asia Minor to talk to God.
Jesus knew that people worry. And he didn't want them to. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus commanded his followers three different times not to worry (see Matthew 6:25-34).
Peter directs the Christians of Asia Minor to pray their worries to God instead.
The Greek word that Peter uses here for "casting" is the same one that is used to describe how Judas threw the silver coins back into the temple after he realized what was going to happen to Jesus. That's what we're supposed to do with our worries. We're to throw them away from ourselves, and into the capable hands of the God who has already saved us from ourselves.
Or to use another picture, think of the office. You've been given a project that just puzzles you. No matter how many hours you spend working on it, no progress ever seems to come. And so you pick up the folder and take it across the room to your boss. You explain how you can't seem to make heads or tails of the situation, and you need some help. You plop the thick folder down on your boss's desk--and you walk away.
Sure, the project isn't finished, but now it's in the right hands.
This is what Peter counsels his fellow Christians to do with their anxieties. Bring them to the One who has all the answers. Leave them with the One who wrote the master plan. For unlike many a work boss, this One cares.
