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At first, I looked at this section and thought, I need to humble myself more and that is how my anxiety will be less. I’m sure there is truth to the statement. But I think that what this passage is emphasizing is that we need to be humbled as we see ourselves in light of the mightiness of God. That is helpful for any of us who deal with anxiety. Realizing how mighty He is is both humbling and hopeful as we see how He can help us in our weakness.
It is humbling to see how mighty God is in light of our anxieties. It is also hopeful to know that this same God cares for us.
But the second part of this passage is also very hopeful to hear. This mighty God wants us to cast all our anxieties on Him because He cares for us. As those who belong to Him, He has shown He cares for us by coming to earth and living as a human being for 33 years. He left heaven to live as a mortal man. He experienced the limitation of human life and then died an undeserved death to pay the penalty for our sin. How else could He have shown how much He loved and cared for us? He took on our sin and gave us in exchange the perfect record of a sinless life that He lived for 33 years. Now we can stand before the Father perfect in the righteousness of Jesus on Judgement Day and be able to spend eternity in heaven with him.
Yes, we have help for eternity in the future. But we also have help for our present weaknesses and anxieties.
But for now, while we live on earth, we have help for our weaknesses such as things like anxiety, grief, loneliness, human weakness. We can give them to God to handle. He can carry our anxieties about the future, about the present. about each area of life where we struggle. Why can He carry them? Because He is mighty. But He also carries them because He cares for us. He has shown that over and over again.
Thanks be to God for His grandness and might. But also for his care and love. Will we ever struggle again with anxiety while we are living in this broken world? Yes. But once again, we will be able to carry our anxieties to God over and over again. This is a promise to memorize and keep in our hearts. This mighty God cares for us. It is no small thing.
ChangePoint
- Read I Peter 5:5-11. This set of verses is in the middle of it. What do you see here about the connection between humility, God’s ability to connect with you, and the devil’s desire to devour you vs. God’s desire to restore, confirm and strengthen you? Jot down your thoughts as you read them.
- What connection do all these have with anxiety? Jot down your thoughts.
- What concrete ways can you give God your anxieties? Are there concrete ways to make it part of your routine? Jot down your thoughts.
- As you seek to find ways to develop help for yourself and dealing with your anxieties, how does knowing who God is help? How does remembering His promises help? Which ones have been most helpful? Jot them down. Memorize them.
- It might be helpful to write a prayer based on this passage or one of the others about anxiety. Try it out.