Jennifer Rothnie Supporter Housewife, Artist, Perpetually Curious

1 Pet 5:7 instructs "Cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you". 

What is interesting about this is that while the greek word for our human care is 'merimna', the word used for God's care is 'melo'. 'Melo' means simply 'to be of interest to' and 'to take care', without the added connotation of anxiety. Conversely, merimna means 'to be anxious about'; to be drawn in opposite directions and divided into parts. Figuratively, to "go to pieces". [It can also be used in a positive sense, such as to be fervent (I Cor 7:32-35), however context usually is clear whether it is being used in its positive sense of fervor vs. The negative sense of anxiety].

Most people, being human, at some time experience anxiety or are caught up in fretting or worry over something they cannot control. It is a frequent topic for Biblical figures as well (Matt 10:17-23, Psa 38:15-20, Is 6:1-5, etc.) Anxiety is distracting, harms our ability to prioritize, and fights against contentment and trust. Anxiety is often a stress response, and can have physical symptoms – such as headaches, nausea, tense muscles, trembling, sweating, heart palpitations, backache, etc. 

In Psalm 22:1-19, David is afraid of God being silent or forsaking him. He is anxious due to the scorn of man, affliction. [Yet, even in this he gives the silver lining to his grey cloud of worry - that we can respond to these fears by trusting in the Lord].

God's concern is free from this anxiety, however. Melo represents positive concern, such as found when the Good Samaritan treats the wounds of the man beaten by robbers (Luke 10: 25-37), or the commendable concern of Timothy in caring for the welfare of others (Phil 2:19-23).

Perhaps a more practical way in looking at the difference is that concern acts with reason and empathy to alleviate a problem or refocus ourselves on God's care, whereas anxiety reacts with or out of fear and worry. 

Anxiety actually hinders profitable action: we lose sense of priority; we ruminate on our own worst-case scenarios; we focus more on self and our own perceptions, etc. We can react rashly and even make things worse.

Concern, on the other hand, will work to address what is needed, if anything, evaluate courses of action, and clear up any misunderstandings. Even for things we can't directly help, prayer, rejoicing, talking it over with one person, and scripture can help refocus us on the one who can.

Jesus points out this difference to Martha in Luke 10:38-42, where she accuses Jesus of not showing concern (melo) for Mary not helping. Jesus responds that the real issue is Martha is anxious (merimna) and bothered by many things, but Mary has prioritized.

In Matt 6:25-34, Jesus gives a short sermon on how to let go of anxiety:

- Life is more important than the details
- The body is more important than the things that go in or on it
- The animals do not plan for the future yet God provides for even them (God has places far higher value on us)
- No amount of worrying could ever lengthen our lives
- Vanity is fruitless, for even Solomon could never rival a simple flower of God's creation
- Do not borrow trouble

The Bible also gives some practical "heart" advice:
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. - Phil 4:6 

Cutting off the endless loop of anxious thoughts is important, as anxiety feeds off repetitive, worthless thoughts that do nothing to change anything. Prayer (talking the issue over with God), Thanksgiving and rejoicing (Focusing on blessings rather than trouble), and supplication (asking God to help with the problem) are all excellent ways as they stop the anxious thoughts, and replace those thoughts with a positive. So we can better identify the real concern.

Matt 11:28-30, Heb 4:12-16, Phil 4:4-9, etc. Give practical & heartfelt ways to cast our anxiety on God.

December 23 2014 • 4 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Thomas K M Supporter A retired Defence Scientist from Indian Defence R&D Orgn.

Peter speaks of casting all your care upon the Lord, for He cares for us. Peter says God cares for us, meaning He shows a kind interest in us in all our needs and cares. The Lord loves to hear and help us as we bring our cares to Him. Indeed, He shows Himself ready to help us before anyone even calls upon Him! Looking to the Lord to be your Savior from all your sins and sinfulness day after day, week after week, year after year, you find out that is who God will most surely and splendidly and graciously and continually be for us in and through Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen Savior! God's care for us is calm, holy, thoughtful providence. God cares for us; therefore we must not be over-anxious, but trust in Him.
Casting all your care, your anxiety, your distracting care on Him, for He cares for you, for He meddles or concerns himself, with the things that interest you. Whatever things concern a follower of God, whether they be spiritual or temporal, or whether in themselves great or small, God concerns himself with them. He who knows that God cares for him, need have no anxious cares about himself. This is a plain reference to Psalm 55:22 : Cast your burden upon the Lord, and he will sustain you. He will bear both you and your burden.

Jesus’ blood cleanses us from all sin. If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 Jn1:9). Peter knew from experience where sin abounds with us, with God, grace abounds still much more, and when He forgives, He remembers our sins no more! (Heb.8:12). God cares for us; as many as humbly depend on Him, with a forgiving and compassionate love that is precious and soul-relieving beyond words. No matter what you may have done or how sinful you have been, yet even this very day you can be washed whiter than snow freely and completely and surely! Cast all your spiritual cares upon Him, for He cares for you.
He cares for us, God Triune does, as shown so much in Jesus Christ in all His life and even to the death of the cross for the purpose of saving sinners like you and me. God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten, His beloved, Son for this gracious and loving purpose, to save guilty wretched, hopeless, otherwise hell-bound sinners like us (Jn.3:16). And Jesus gave of Himself so willingly and totally for this reason, and the Holy Spirit labors continually with the Word for the glory of this Savior and the salvation of all His people. In 1 Peter 5:4 the apostle speaks of Jesus as the Chief Shepherd, which means really He is the greatest and most shepherd-like Helper for all His people. He tenderly cares for them, each and every one, in all their needs for body and soul, in life and death.

So as 2014 ends and 2015 begins with in a week’s time, will you be one truly casting all your cares upon the Lord, trusting Him so much cares for you as revealed most clearly in the gospel of Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen Savior of sinners? In that light, oh, dear friends, “Happy New Year” indeed! Amen.

December 23 2014 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jay Saunders Supporter

Casting your cares on the Lord:

My best example in doing this was learnt when I was just a babe in Christ. I had a son about 5 who was born paralyzed from the waste down caused by a spinabifida birth defect. My wife and I divorced. 

I wanted to change my lifestyle whereas she did not. I wanted to change but didn't yet realize that only Christ could empower me to change, which he did. But my son was still my biggest worry in life and his medical needs were continuous.

So after being born again and Christ Jesus empowering me to change, I still had this terrible burden that I just didn't know how or if that I could bear it. So I prayed for my son and asked God to take away the burden that I just could not bear on my own.

Well my son lived until he was around 35 or so and all his needs were met by my insurances through employers that I was blessed with. I remember the day that I trusted Jesus to take my burden, and he did. 

My son lived a fairly simple life but he seemed to enjoy every bit of it, even though he never walked a day in his life. I know that God's hand was on his life and God answered my prayer for him and me.

The Lord is the most giving and loving being that you can experience here on planet earth, but until you surrender your life to him, you can never experience that love to the fullest.

You must believe that he is without proof and then the proof of his love shines forth like the noon day sun. Oh, what a wonderful savior. Oh, what a wonderful heavenly father. Oh, how wonderful is the Holy Spirit.

Until the day my son died all his needs were met. He was always very loving to me even though I was estranged from him most of the time through divorce, time and distance, but the financial and medical needs were always met.

So If you have a care that is breaking your heart into pieces, just cast your care on him. Just cast it off on him, for he cares for you. His love has no boundaries. His love has no limits.

Selah!

Jay D. Saunders

March 30 2020 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jack Gutknecht Supporter ABC/DTS graduate, guitar music ministry Baptist church

Proverbs 12:25 says, "Anxiety weighs down the heart." That's a problem. How do we deal with it?

First see the big pictures: He Careth for You 1 Pet. 5:7
As a Mother comforting you Isa. 66:13
As a Shepherd seeking you Ezek. 34:12
As an Eagle bearing you up Deut. 32:11
As a Father pitying you Ps. 103:13
As a Hen gathering you together Matt. 23:37
As a Bridegroom rejoicing over you, His bride Isa. 62:5

God’s Care for His Own 1 Pet. 5:7
1 He knows our names John 10:3
2 He counts the hairs of our head Matt. 10:30
3 He counts the steps of our feet Job 14:16
4 He writes down the thoughts of our hearts Mal. 3:16
5 He bottles the tears from our eyes Ps. 56:8
6 He holds our right hand in His hand Isa. 41:13; Ps. 73:23
7 He supplies all our needs Phil. 4:19

As Jennifer Rothnie Supporter Housewife, Artist, Perpetually Curious has said, care for or anxiety about worldly things is wrong:

Philippians 4:6 See also Ecclesiastes 5:12; Matthew 6:31-32 pp Luke 12:29-30; Matthew 13:22 pp Mark 4:18-19 pp Luke 8:14; Luke 10:40-42; Luke 21:34; 1 Corinthians 7:32-34.

God relieves his people of cares
1 Peter 5:7 There is a vital distinction between “care” in the sense of “loving care” which Christians are to practice, and “worldly care” in the sense of “anxiety” which Christians should transfer to God since they and their needs are his responsibility. See also Psalm 37:25; Psalm 55:22; Proverbs 3:5-6; Isaiah 53:4; Matthew 11:28-29; Luke 12:11-12; John 14:1 

Sing it out along with Steve Green:

Cast all your cares upon Him
Cast all your cares upon Him
For He cares for you
Cast all your cares upon Him

Then pray for yourself and your neighbors, for you and I are "Standing in the Need of Prayer." Sign up at https://blesseveryhome.com/

I remember once in my life when I needed to use "casting my prayer upon the Lord" as an arrow prayer. 3 of us young men (2 young men and a male supervisor actually) were snorkeling in the ocean near San Juan, Puerto. The top of the barrel of the snorkel was open to the elements, that is, it went straight up and was not curved with a ball in the end like other snorkels. This meant that the swimmer had to be very careful in his breathing, that he did not inhale when his snorkel was underwater! One of the 3 of us was not that great of a swimmer. Although we were fairly close to each other, we lost track of this young man who didn't come up for air for quite a while! I searched underwater for where I'd last seen him. I saw a cloud of underwater "dust" which meant this is where he had been struggling. I found him not moving so I brought him to the surface and 2 of us dragged him to shore and I performed the Heimlich Maneuver to get him breathing. He vomited up something and I breathed my arrow prayer, and he started breathing again. 

Someone called an ambulance and I rode with him 100 miles an hour away from the beach to a hospital. We cast all our cares on the Lord, and he was saved. He had to stay 3 extra days in Puerto Rico to recover while the rest of us flew back to the States.

Casting our care on Him is a way of humbling ourselves before Him: 
1 Peter 5:6-7 
5:6 And God will exalt you in due time, if you humble yourselves under his mighty hand 5:7 by casting all your cares on him because he cares for you. 
(NET Bible)

Watch and hear Jesus say, "Do not be anxious" in the video at the bottom of this webpage:

https://petertchattaway.substack.com/p/the-chosen-season-three-episode-one

March 31 2020 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report