One of the most important lessons of our Christian life is found in this brief instruction from Peter: "Cast all your anxiety on him because He cares for you" (5:7).
Who doesn’t have problems? Everyday, we encounter difficulties, trials, sometimes even persecution and sufferings and all these cause a lot of stress. We get worried, we fret, we are afraid and most of all, we forget to trust God.
Take note of the verb which Peter used in his instruction – ‘Cast’. The Greek word for this is ‘epiripto’ which means originally ‘to throw, to propel something from one place to another’ which I must say is quite an active word. Peter was actually telling us to throw, to propel our anxiety to God.
But what do we do? Oftentimes, we do just the opposite – we nurse our fears, we keep our problems inside us, we hang on to them. Peter tells us to propel all our anxieties, all our stress to God and we do that through prayer.
Also note that he said that ‘he cares for you’. You are not alone. You don't have to keep your problems and anxieties all by yourself. God HIMSELF is concerned for your welfare. God HIMSELF wants you to be happy. God HIMSELF feels your pain and knows your fears. God HIMSELF cares for you! Wow!
So when you feel stressed out, recall this verse from the first letter of Peter and pray boldly: “Heavenly Father, I cast all my worries, all my burdens, all my problems [or if you like to be specific, mention the thing that is bothering you] on you for I know you care for me and you are deeply concern and interested in everything I face”.
