1 Peter 5: 6 – 7
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.
We spend a lot of time and attention on verse seven which tells us to cast our anxiety on the Lord, the King James Version says to cast our care. We devote little time and attention, though, to verse six. In that these two verses comprise one sentence it would likely behoove us to read them together on occasion so as to perceive the light which each phrase shines upon the other.
When we read the two verses together it would seem that Peter is revealing that there is a relationship between our humbling ourselves to the master and promotion as well as the cure for anxiety. He who gives his care to the Lord is wise. I wonder, though, if some of us have trouble casting that care over to the Lord because we have failed to recognize Him as Lord over our lives in the deepest part of our being. We have all said those surrender prayers and of course we mean them when we utter them but it is in the trenches of life that quality decisions are truly made. A quality decision is one from which there is no retreat. It is not wishy-washy but rather strong and determined and I find that they empower a person to walk the path elected. They do not, however, come easily. Sooner or later, though, if we are to live the lives that we have longed for we are going to have to make the big decisions. Life can be wonderful and beautiful but it is not free. We must lay aside those things which keep us in the low life and one of the largest burdens that is preventing us from rising to the heights God has determined for us is our own ego. In our heart of hearts have we really relinquished our lives to our Lord as master? Do your hackles arise just thinking of someone being your master? Don’t feel alone if you answer that question honestly and find that submitting yourself completely to another’s lordship is difficult. It is how we have been indoctrinated but we must understand that the training which has elevated ourselves in our eyes is not of God and is not going to promote us. In the beginning it appears to be effective but there is story upon story of people who have risen to a certain level of success only to find ultimate failure.
Success truly does come from surrender. Honestly, how can we fully cast our care upon the Lord, allowing Him to carry away the anxiety if we have not released ourselves into Him? There is a huge element of trust in this surrender and if we do not fully trust God then we will be unable to give Him our burdens. Therefore, humbling ourselves to the Lord our God is an essential element of casting our care upon Him. We will be unable to do the one if we have not first done the former.
Now, here is the crux of the matter. We may find it difficult if not impossible to completely surrender ourselves to our Lord and Father without first receiving healing. Those things in our past which have made it hard for us to trust people must be healed. Growing in our relationship with our God is a process and it is all interconnected. One cannot just choose the prosperity portion of a relationship with God without it affecting other parts of their lives. Prosperity, healing, well-being, blessing and all the rest are part of a package deal that comes along with a life with God. This is not a la carte ordering. We give God our lives and He gives us a grand, abundant life. He carries our heavy burdens and supplies our needs and wants above and beyond all that we can think of or believe for.
We have longed for a good life, we greatly desire God to take away our troubles but we must put ourselves fully in His hands. He will not, cannot, usurp your control and will. As long as you are Lord of your life, then He will have to sit in the backseat while you drive. Keep surrendering your heart to the Lord. Every time you find an unsurrendered relationship, give it to the Lord. Each time you find a strong-hold in your life, give it to God. This is a process. We don’t renew our minds just once, but rather we are in a constant state of renewal. That is good news. Let your life go and with it the anxiety. Live free, give your life more fully to God today.
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