Give Your Concerns to Jesus

by Grace Fox

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7 NIV

The new day had barely begun, but already its concerns burdened me: A dear friend was losing her battle with cancer; a relative was wrestling with ongoing mental health issues; my family was struggling with COVID-related tension; I faced pressing work deadlines; and more.

Overwhelmed. Crushed by circumstances beyond my control. Anxious over questions for which I lacked answers. That’s how I felt.

I suspect you can relate. Your concerns may or may not match mine, but you “get” the weight because you’ve carried it, too. We all deal with anxieties—often to our own detriment. We lose sleep worrying about those we love. We lose our focus fearing the worst about financial difficulties. We lose our peace drawing hypothetical conclusions from what-if thoughts.

Jesus never intended that concerns should dominate our thinking because He understands their negative impact on our well-being. He knows that chronically bearing their weight causes us to languish. That’s why Scripture tells us to cast our worries on him.

In the original Greek language, “cast” means to hurl or heave with force. It doesn’t suggest we gingerly place one problem on Jesus’ shoulders to see how He resolves it before entrusting Him with another. Neither does it imply we give Him our concerns only to retrieve them a short while later. Casting our cares means throwing them onto Jesus with force because we’re done with them and don’t intend to take them back.

Jesus’ shoulders are bigger than ours, and His strength is greater. He can handle those situations too complex for us. He can bear the burdens too heavy. He’s all-knowing, wise, and sovereign, too. He is trustworthy. Completely. And get this—when we turn our troubles over to Him, we don’t need to spend energy searching for solutions to relay to Him. No more prayers like, “Father, do such-and-such in this situation.” Instead, we pray like this: “Father, help. I’m giving You this burden. It’s too big for me.”

Jesus is more than able to carry our concerns. Every single one of them. Sometimes we forget the little word “all” in 1 Peter 5:7. We give some concerns to Jesus, but we hesitate to surrender others because we fear an undesirable outcome. But here’s the thing: Our concerns can’t wield control over us when we yield control to Jesus. Let’s choose to surrender all our burdens, no matter what caused them, and trust Him for the best outcome.

Overwhelmed on that morning, amidst my anxious thoughts, I sensed the Lord whisper, “Take a deep breath, and then exhale your anxiety about your friend with cancer. Trust Me. I’ve got this.” I did what He said, and my soul felt a little lighter. He spoke again: “Exhale concern about your relative with mental health issues.” And again: “Now exhale concern about all things COVID-related.”

The Holy Spirit led me through that list of circumstances, and then He brought several more concerns to mind—burdens I hadn’t even realized I was bearing until I felt the load lighten. One by one, I cast all my concerns onto Jesus, grateful for His willingness to carry them for me.

This article is brought to you by the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association (AWSA).

About the author: Grace Fox is a career missionary, the award-winning author of 13 books, and a popular Bible teacher at international women’s events. She’s a member of the “First 5” writing team for Proverbs 31 Ministries and co-hosts the podcast “Your Daily Bible Verse.” Her new devotional, Fresh Hope for Today: Devotions for Joy on the Journey, is available wherever Christian books are sold. Visit Grace’s website to subscribe to her monthly update and receive free printables to enhance your Bible reading and prayer time at gracefox.com.

Join the conversation: What concerns are you carrying today, my friend? Take a deep breath. Now exhale. Repeat. Do this little exercise as often as needed. Give those concerns to Jesus because He cares for you.