Learn to throw your anxieties on the Lord. Casting anxiety is the secret to finding peace.
But you have to throw something — you have to throw everything.
We clutch too easily to things other than God. We love it, we desire it, and it has become so familiar. We pray, we meditate on scripture, and we ask others to pray for us — but we still cling to it.
Let’s define what is keeping you from having peace as ‘it’. What is ‘it’ in your life? Corrie Ten Boom used to say, “I cling to nothing too tightly as it hurts too much when God takes it away.”
The problem with ‘it’ is that ‘it’ blinds us. We can have this ugly, messy, slime dripping anger problem and we defend it by saying, “It’s not that bad!” We dip our fingers into dirty lust with the denial, “It doesn’t stink, I’m finding myself.” We cling tightly to money and think, “I’ve earned this!”
What you hold in your hands controls you.
You can’t find peace until you lift empty hands to God.
Four years ago I memorized 1 Peter 5:6-7. My life context, causing anxiety, was a financial crises at the church that I pastor. Recognizing my leadership style had caused the crises, I began a two month struggle to find peace.
I learned to throw my anxieties upon God.
Let’s do translation:
1 Peter 5:6-7 in (NASB)
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.
Below is 1 Peter 5:6-7 in the OGV (Old Guy Version). I translate mixing Greek, current context, and practical application.
When I realize that I need God’s help, I throw my anxiety upon Him, so that I will have help to walk in God’s plan for my life. — 1 Peter 5:6-7 (OGV)
Ask the Lord to reveal what is in your hand other than His grace. God allows distress so that you will see clearly what you are grasping.
If you don’t see anything, ask someone else what they see in your hand.
The image of ‘throwing’ in 1 Peter, literally means to throw onto God what you hold in your hand. ‘It’ needs to be thrown onto God in confession and in repentance and in dependence upon His strength for victory.
Tonight, before you sleep, ask God to reveal your anxieties, and then throw them at Him. Use your imagination– throw ‘it’ onto God.
Then, lift up an empty hand to receive His Grace.
I lift both hands because I’m the #1 consumer of God’s grace in the history of Christianity!