In this article, we will examine the meaning of 1 Peter 5:7 and what we can learn as Christians. So, grab your Bible, and let’s dive in…
It’s always interesting to study the life of Peter as we find it in the Bible. He earned his living as a fisherman but became one of Jesus’ closest followers.
He was the one who was ready to draw the sword to defend Jesus’ life, but then he also denied that he knew Jesus (no less than three times!).
And yet, this flawed man with so many issues and struggles was the one Jesus chose to build His church on (Matthew 16:18). He faced challenges and anxieties that many of us can only imagine and was eventually crucified like his Savior.
So, when Peter says we should cast all our care or anxieties on God, he knows what he’s talking about. Unfortunately, Peter did not leave step-by-step instructions with those words.
So, how can we as believers cast our anxieties on the Lord, and what exactly did Peter mean in 1 Peter 5:7?
The Meaning Of 1 Peter 5:7
The first step to understanding any Bible verse is to look at the context within which it was written since it’s easy to miss God’s intention with a verse when we look at it on its own.
To see the context of this verse, we must go all the way back to 1 Peter 4:12. Peter is talking to the believers in Asia Minor about facing persecution, telling them to rejoice in the fact that they can share in Christ’s sufferings (4:13).
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal which is taking place to test you [that is, to test the quality of your faith], as though something strange or unusual were happening to you.
13 But insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, keep on rejoicing, so that when His glory [filled with His radiance and splendor] is revealed, you may rejoice with great joy. – 1 Peter 4:12-13 AMP
He clearly distinguishes between suffering as the consequence of your actions (verse 15) and suffering simply because you are a believer (verse 16). He encouraged the latter to glorify God in that suffering and in being called “Christians.”
If you are insulted and reviled for [bearing] the name of Christ, you are blessed [happy, with life-joy and comfort in God’s salvation regardless of your circumstances], because the Spirit of glory and of God is resting on you [and indwelling you—He whom they curse, you glorify].
15 Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or a thief, or any sort of criminal [in response to persecution], or as a troublesome meddler interfering in the affairs of others; 16 but if anyone suffers [ill-treatment] as a Christian [because of his belief], he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God [because he is considered worthy to suffer] in this name. – 1 Peter 4:14-16AMP
It’s within this context of Peter encouraging believers that were persecuted that we find 1 Peter 5:6-7:
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.”
Now, let’s look at how we, as believers, should cast our cares on God.
Cast Your Cares On Him
Though Peter did not give us a step-by-step guide, we can see many examples of how to cast our anxieties on God from the Bible!
Check Out More: 6 Helpful Ways You Can Cast Your Cares on the Lord and Cast Your Burdens: The Meaning of Psalm 55:22
Humble Yourself Under God
In 1 Peter 5:6, the verse before the one where Peter tells us to cast all our anxieties on God, he tells us one crucial thing: we are to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God.
One of the first reactions many of us have when we face tribulations is to ask…
“But why me?
What did I do to deserve this?”
“Did I do something wrong?”
This is not a great way to handle anxiety. It actually can cause more anxiety as we begin to question everything.
We know that Jesus told us that we would face trials and tribulations in the world; it’s basically guaranteed. I know no one wants to hear that, but it’s true. After all, we’re not in heaven yet.
Asking why bad things are happening to us is pointless. Giving our lives to Christ does not guarantee a life free from trouble; that’s just not Biblical. All followers will experience some form of trials, persecution, and hard seasons.
So, when we face these various trials, the correct approach would be to humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand and trust that He knows the outcome.
We don’t see the future and how our suffering now would affect our testimony and God’s kingdom, but He does, and staying humble goes hand-in-hand with trusting God.
When we trust God this way, we essentially cast our anxiety on Him, knowing He cares for us.
Remind Yourself That God Has A Perfect Plan
For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. – Jeremiah 29:11 AMP
When we are living our lives in the will of God, He has a perfect plan for our lives. We don’t always know what this plan is and how it will end here on Earth, but we know it will eventually end with us spending eternity with Christ.
Anxiety is a terrible thing.
It’s fear that has matured to the point where it immobilizes us. Anxiety can cause us to stand still and not live out our purpose, so we know the enemy will try to get us anxious because then we are not getting closer to God’s plan for our lives.
When we compare these two, the sure knowledge that God has a purpose and a plan will energize us and help us overcome anxiety.
The opposite of fear is faith, so we can cast our anxiety on God by believing He is still in control and has a solution for this problem. It’s the knowledge that nothing can ever happen to us that God has not foreseen and prepared for.
We often see movies where the heroes find themselves in a situation they cannot escape. Then one of them will turn to the other and say, “Do you trust me?”
At that moment, we know that something spectacular is about to happen that will make it all turn out fine in the end.
That’s what God expects from us. When we get anxious, He asks us, “Do you trust Me?”
Our answer to this question should be to cast our anxiety on Him.
Talk To God About Your Cares
Talking to Him about them is part of casting our anxieties or cares on Him. Some of us feel God will see this as unbelief, but He understands.
Did you know that Jesus also struggled??
Peter says in 1 Peter 5:1 that he witnessed Jesus’ suffering, but we can see that this went further than just the beatings and crucifixion. He also witnessed Jesus’ agony in the garden. We see the following in Mark 14:32-34:
Then they went to a place called Gethsemane; and Jesus said to His disciples, “Sit down here until I have prayed.” 33 He took Peter and James and John with Him, and He began to be deeply distressed and troubled [extremely anguished at the prospect of what was to come]. 34 And He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved and overwhelmed with sorrow, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch.”
Jesus was facing the moment when He would be taken captive and go through the worst suffering that any living being had ever gone through. He knew what was coming, and every human part of Him wanted to avoid it.
But He also knew that He could not, and this caused Him to be anxious “even to death.”
Jesus did not hesitate but immediately went to talk to God about it!
Three times, He asked God not to let it happen if there was any other way. But still, He was willing to submit to the will of the Father despite what He was going through emotionally.
However, we can see that the prayer helped because an angel was sent to strengthen Him, and after the third time He prayed, He was ready to face His betrayer and go through everything without hesitation.
Involve Your Friends
From this same example where Jesus sturggling, we can also see that He took His three closest friends with Him to pray. Peter, John, and James went with Him, and He confessed His cares to them, then asked them to keep watch as He prayed.
We should never be too proud to get our closest friends and loved ones to pray with us, and we should be free to openly confess our anxieties to them so they can help and support us in prayer.
When we do this, it often gets easier to cast our fears on God because, suddenly, they might not appear as bad as before.
To recap…
Trials and tribulations are a part of life here on Earth, and this becomes even more true when we accept Christ (a part of the bargain that altar calls don’t always tell us about). It’s human to feel anxiety when we face these challenges, and the fear can often immobilize us.
However, Peter witnessed Jesus’ suffering – the anxiety He faced in Gethsemane and the eventual suffering through the beatings and the cross.
Despite witnessing these, and then going through his own set of woes and persecutions, he encourages us in 1 Peter 5:7 to cast our anxiety on the Lord and trust Him because He cares for us.
No believer today can say that our anxieties compare with those of Jesus, and because He was willing to endure and persevere, we can take our fears and cares to Him, knowing that His plan for us will be the ultimate outcome, no matter what life may throw at us.
I hope you have enjoyed learning about how to cast all your cares on Jesus and that the meaning Of 1 Peter 5:7 has touched your soul.
Melissa is a passionate minister, speaker and an ongoing learner of the Bible. She has been involved in church and vocational ministry for over 18 years. And is the founder of Think About Such Things. She has the heart to equip the saints by helping them get into the Word of God and fall more in love with Jesus. She also enjoys family, cooking, and reading.
She has spoken in churches in California, Oregon, Texas, and Mexico and has been featured in Guidepost Magazine and All Recipes Magazine. Read More…