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I’ve experienced loss financially, relationally, personally, and professionally. We all have!
If we don’t leave the past, then we won’t move forward. It’s difficult to move forward as our flesh wants to luxuriate in the bitterness, anger, and resentment of our past; it’s easier to feel sorry for ourselves than to start over.
Let’s consider 1 Peter 5:6-7, a verse that has helped me leave the past and move forward…
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
The Greek word for “anxiety” is “merimna,” which means “pulled in two directions.” The cause of most anxiety is an emotional tug of war between the past and the present. We want to change, grow, or find hope again, but bitterness, fear, and anger tap us on the shoulder and remind us of our inadequacies and failures.
First Peter 5:6-7 teaches that we have two choices with our “anxieties” or “what is pulling us in two directions” — we can cast them on the Lord or keep them. Throwing them to Jesus brings freedom, and keeping them means an increasing mass of worsening anxiety.
What can we do? How do we cast our anxieties upon the Lord?
The Apostle Peter uses a Greek word that’s translated “humility” (tapeinoo), meaning “to be brought low” or “full dependence upon the Lord.” We can’t overcome our anger, frustration, and woundedness on our own; giving up the right to fix ourselves begins our healing.
Biblical humility throws away our independence; we no longer believe that we can make ourselves better. We repent, it’s not us, it’s God!
Let’s start with God when leaving the past and moving forward.
The Apostle Peter teaches us the principle of “casting our anxieties.” The word Peter uses for “casting” appears only twice in the New Testament, here in 1 Peter 5:6-7 and when they “threw” or “cast” their coats on the colt that Jesus would ride into Jerusalem during His triumphant entry (Luke 19:35).
Peter witnesses this throwing of coats on a donkey and chooses to use this word for the casting of our anxieties onto Jesus. The esteemed apostle sends us a message from 2000 years ago. We literally throw our anxieties on Jesus, let Him carry them! How do we do this?
I attended a conference when a speaker said, “Don’t ask for help, don’t even ask for forgiveness. Take your need, grab it with your hands, and throw it on Jesus. Go ahead, I challenge you to literally, right now, cast your anxieties on God.”
Those around me began muttering and throwing with their arms. I had to duck a couple of times as the large man behind me, with his eyes closed, began punching the air, and I didn’t want to get pummeled.
I tried it then — didn’t want to at first — and it worked. I still do today, in my prayer chair with no one around, and it still works. Try it.
Cast your anxieties on the Lord. Leave the past and move forward!