In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders.
All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,
“God opposes the proud
but shows favor to the humble.”
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
I Peter 5:5-7
I Peter 5:7 is one of the most well-known verses in the Bible: “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
It is one of the most comforting promises in all of Scripture.
But you’ll notice that Peter doesn’t begin there. That is verse 7. The verses before it explain how we get to the point of being able to do that.
He says “Clothe yourselves with humility… Humble yourselves under God’s mighty hand…” And then he writes, “Cast all your anxiety on him.”
Humility comes first.
Why does the order matter?
Because casting our anxiety on God is, at its core, an act of humility.
When we worry, we are trying to carry something ourselves. We worry because the problem is big and we don’t know how to solve it and know full-well we don’t have the power to do so.
Pride feeds that thinking: “I can handle this.” “I’ll figure it out.” “I will carry this weight myself.”
So the first step to even arriving at the point where we can cast our cares on Him is to realize that we need God in this (and every) situation.
But here’s the amazing thing: Humility doesn’t just make it possible to cast our cares on God—it makes us want to.
As we remove pride, we naturally become more willing to release our worries into God’s hands because we know we can’t handle them ourselves. And the more cares we release into His hands, the more we see Him come through in our lives just like He promised.
So today, if you are carrying something heavy, humble yourself before God. Focus on Him. Admit you cannot carry it alone. And then, cast all your anxiety on him.
He cares for you.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, teach me humility. And help me experience the precious peace that is offered through it. Amen.