Caring About Our Cares

1 Peter 5:7

We live in troubling times, the days are evil (as evidenced by the present pandemic) and as a consequence we as human beings tend to worry or be anxious. Notice God’s Word in Phil. 4:6. ”Be careful for nothing….” (Italics mine) The word originally means “to be full of anxious care or to be full of anxiety”. The present day word is worry. This same idea is found in the phrase “Take no thought” Matt. 6:25. We are told that the construction in the Greek language in Philippians has the force of a command… to stop continually worrying about even one thing! (Italics mine)

Before we go one let’s make the distinction between worry and being concerned, the former is forbidden but the latter is commended; the former is a condition which brings about distraction and lack of trust in our God (Luke 10.40). the latter refers to an emotional response to seek the welfare of someone. (Rom. 10:1)

Because the phrase in Philippians is a command, thus to worry constitute a sin, it demonstrates a lack of trust in our God. A God who is sovereign and who has promised to provide for his children out of the abundance of his riches. We are assured of this when Paul says that “God is able to make all grace abound toward you…” 2 Cor.9:8. and that He “shall supply all your need according to his riches…..” Phil.4:19.

Our loving, heavenly Father commands his children who are worry prone to stop worrying! It is to be noted that God does not give us a command that we cannot fulfill, and this is a very reasonable command because in 1 Peter 5:7, we read “Casting all your care upon Him for he careth for you”. Notice the word care occurs twice in the verse; however they have completely different meanings. The word “care “is the same word meaning worry. We are exhorted to cast all our worry on Him. “Cast” indicates an act of the will … we are to commit or give over to him our cares; we determine that we will not worry about situations or circumstances. The word “careth” indicates that our welfare is his responsibility, as his child he has undertaken the responsibility of caring for and providing for our welfare… that is what a father does!! Have you stop to consider a child, he has no anxiety or worry about the provision for his welfare, because he trusts implicitly that his father will provide and look after such because that is precisely what his responsibility as a father demands!

Since that is true there is no reason to worry and to do so calls into question the love and commitment and ability of our Father to fulfill his responsibility and that is why worrying is sin.

So the next time we are tempted to worry let us remember that that God, our heavenly Father, has undertaken the responsibility to look after our welfare and let us sing with a clear conscience the words of the well-known chorus which says “I don’t worry when things go wrong, Jesus turns it into a song, It’s amazing what praises can do. HALLELUJAH!