In the Same Way, part 5
Cast your cares on Him because He cares for you!
Why do we struggle with submission? Isn’t it because we are not satisfied with our life? Submission takes us and our will out of the picture, and if we don’t like the way our life is going, we want to be the ones who change it.
Interestingly enough, without submission, our lives will never change from what they are now. If your pride is saying, “I’m going to change my life,” then you are in a fight against God Himself, for He “resists the proud.” But if you will release the control of your life to Him, He will give you grace. And that very same grace often results in the very life you always wanted for yourself!
Cast All Your Cares on Him
1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.” Just think! In America, our anxieties tend to be based on whether or not we will be able to afford enough gas to go on vacation. But here we hear Peter’s words to Christians who are being put to death for their faith: “Don’t be anxious. Don’t worry!”
How do we “cast our cares on Him?” Paul the Apostle has some advice concerning that in Philippians 4:6 - “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” The way we “cast our cares upon Him” is through prayer. Prayer is the one thing we can do to show our humility and submission. In fact, it is only through prayer that we can maintain a humble attitude.
Do you remember what Peter said about a husband who does not treat his wife with respect? 1 Peter 3:7 “Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.” He said that failing to treat his wife respectfully would cause a man’s prayers to be hindered.
So how do I effectively pray to God when I’m in conflict with His plan for my life? To help us better understand, we’ll stay with the context of a husband’s treatment of his wife. Let’s suppose things are not going right in your life because you don’t treat her properly. And then, when you pray, you are asking God to bless your life - without even making the connection that some of the problems you are facing are there because of how you have mistreated your wife!
It’s pride to believe that we can convince God to ignore His own principles and make an exception for us. What makes us more valuable than the Son of God, who lived in complete submission to His Father? We are to submit in the same way that Jesus did.
Everything comes down to relationships. Isn’t it interesting how we know that when we have been disobedient to God, it’s going to hinder our prayers, yet we generally fail to make the connection that not having a right relationship with our spouse has the same effect on our prayers?
This little principle applies to all of us. If a husband is mistreating his wife, his prayers are hindered. If a wife is not in submission to her husband, her prayers are hindered. If young people have no respect for their elders, their prayers are hindered. If we live according to our own plan, instead of God’s plan, our prayers are hindered.
If we are going to cast all our cares upon Him, we must have a prayer life to do so. And, in order to have an effective prayer life, our prayers cannot be hindered. In order for our prayers to not be hindered, we must have a right relationship with our God and with others.
If you have a proud spirit, you will find yourself in a fight against God Himself. But if you will humble yourself, God will give you grace. And if you do not become weary in well doing, and just keep on keeping on, doing the Will of God, God will eventually exalt you - it’s just that He gets to determine when that is. “Therefore – do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Humble yourself and “cast your cares upon Him for He cares for you.” END
