Moving Beyond AnxietySýnishorn

Cast All

1 Peter 5:7 reads, “Cast all your cares upon the Lord for he cares for you.” How much Jesus loves us! Look at the cradle and the cross. They prove the deep love of the Father for all of us (1 John 3:1).

Because of this amazing grace, we can cast all our cares on Jesus. Not a few. Or many. But all of them. Every. Single. One. We shouldn’t hold on to one of our worries.

The word cast here is fascinating. It implies a forcible throwing of an object from one place to another. Peter, the author of this verse, would understand this work in light of being a fisherman. He had to “cast” his nets from one side of the boat to another. This would not be a casual toss, but a strong throw. It would demand every ounce of energy that he had.

This idea of casting would be similar to a quarterback launching a 50-yard pass. Or a baseball pitcher throwing a 100-mile an hour fastball. Or a basketball player heaving a full court pass. None demand little energy, but much.

That’s the image we should have when casting our cares upon Jesus. We need to take our worries and energetically throw them on him. We don’t want them anywhere near us. We not only want them taken captive (2 Corinthians 10:5), but jettisoned to Jesus. They are his now. We carry them no longer.

I used to love to play catch with my kids in the backyard. We’d throw a ball back and forth for hours. It was a fun and memorable time together.

But as much as your Father in heaven loves you, he doesn’t want to play catch with you. When you cast your cares to him, you need to drop your hands and walk away. Your Father doesn’t want to throw them back. You shouldn’t want them back either. You’ve thrown them to him. They are his now. You go on now to enjoy the rest of your life.

My wife refers to it this way: You pray and walk away. You give all your cares to the Lord and let him handle them. They’re now his to deal with.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free (Galatians 5:1). One way to realize this freedom is to cast all our cares upon Jesus. He said he’d carry them. All we have to do is walk away.

Take Jesus at his word.