Worry and anxiety are subjects that I have over 40 years of experience with, so that makes me an expert of sorts, doesn’t it?  However, admittedly my experience is somewhat out of date, because when I came to the LORD in 1993, He invited me to cast my cares upon Him, so I did.  Simple, huh?  Don’t you wish everything was this easy?

Let’s have a look at Matthew 11:28-30:
Mat 11:28  Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Mat 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Mat 11:30  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Did I have to beg and plead with Him to take them?  No, He was more than willing to lighten my burdens.  BUT, I was not so very eager to surrender them.  It seems we grow attached to our fears, worries, anxieties and stress over the years, to the point that even if we are willing to hand them over to the LORD, we are soon going back to repossess them.  Why do we do that to ourselves?  I hope to shed some light on that today.

Maybe it’s pride: we want to appear in control of things, even if it is wearing us out, and of course, we don’t want to appear weak and needy, do we?  So there we are, suffering silently or maybe NOT so silently, clutching our burdens like a drowning man would hold onto a life preserver, caring ever so carefully for our cares.

What does the Bible say about it?  It is written in 1 Peter 5:6-10,
1Pe 5:6  Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
1Pe 5:7  Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
1Pe 5:8  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
1Pe 5:9  Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
1Pe 5:10  But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.

God has an order to everything He does.  We are first told to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God.  Why?  So we can become established in the proper order of things: He is LORD, and we are to submit to Him, not the other way around.  God is not our errand boy, jumping through hoops for us, giving us this and that like a genie in a bottle. Yes, I know there are those of the” name it and claim it” bunch who have taken things out of context and have earned themselves a reputation in the process.  Am I one of them?  Well, I have to admit, if God says I can have it, yes I DO name it and claim it, because He wants me to have it.  That’s part of the way He exalts us, by showing us how to live Kingdom of God style and letting us enjoy the fruits thereof.  One of the things He says we can have is His peace. So I “name it an claim it” as my own.  Why not?  Should I just roll over and let the devil steal the good things the LORD wants me to have?  No way!

In verse 7, it says Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Many times when we were kids, our parents told us to do something, and we would say “WHY?” And they would reply “Because I said so!” But here, God tells us to cast all our care upon Him, and gives us the reason WHY: because He cares for us. Yes, He loves us, and doesn’t want us to worry about ANYTHING! Some people read that and think, “Oh, but it’s irresponsible for me to be carefree and not worry about anything.” No, it’s irresponsible to refuse a solution to your problems when it is freely offered to you.

I remember a time the LORD brought me to a person after church that was out of work. She had asked for prayer that she would find a job quickly so she could pay her rent.  I tried to give her some money but she just wouldn’t take it, no matter how I offered.  The LORD cared for her and wanted to meet her need and lighten her load, but she just wouldn’t let Him.  We are like that sometimes, aren’t we?  Trying to be “responsible”, we become fools for refusing the LORD’S help.

Verse 8 says: Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Anyone who thinks we live in “LALA Land” and don’t have an enemy out there trying to destroy all we have and separate us from the love of God is an idiot.  God tells us to watch out for the devil’s ways.  Something we need to notice in this verse is that the devil walks about AS a roaring lion.  He is NOT a roaring lion, but just a cheap imitation thereof, seeking whom he MAY devour.  Notice the word MAY; it is permissive, not causative.  He can’t have you for lunch unless you give him permission.  Besides, the Lord Jesus removed the devil’s claws and teeth with His sacrifice on the cross.  What’s he gonna do, gum you to death?  No, the devil has a better way: he will WORRY you to death.  About what?  Anything you have going on in your life.  My mom was a world-class worrier.  If she didn’t have something to worry about, she would worry because there wasn’t anything to worry about.  Hello?  Some of YOU are like that, and so was I before I had the sense to give my burdens to Christ Jesus, and turn and leave them there.  NOT ONCE has the LORD ever asked me to come back and get my worries, because He is tired of carrying them. However, the devil must feel sorry for God, for he continually tells me to go back and get my worries, fears, cares, and anxieties.

1Pe 5:9  Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. Do you think you’re the only one the devil is pulling this stuff on?  No, you are only one of multitudes, but he doesn’t need a new game plan because we still keep falling for his lies. Indeed, God invites us to roll our burden of care over on Him, and we keep resisting His invitation instead of resisting the devil’s junk. Maybe we think we are “more holy” if we suffer fear, worry, and anxiety? No, we are showing God two things: first, we don’t believe Him, and secondly, we don’t trust Him.  We would rather show God how tough we are by soldiering on with our backpack of cares and worry.  And then we have the nerve to COMPLAIN about how stressed out we are!  Is that giving God glory?  You tell me.  We have to learn to properly use our “Resister”: we must resist the devil, not God.  As long as we continue to resist giving our cares over to God once and for all, we will indeed share in the same afflictions our brethren do that are in the world, worry, care, fear, and anxiety.  By the way, fear and worry affect your body in a very negative way, and you’ll never realize how much until you give those cares to the LORD and feel that burden lifted off of you, then you’ll say, “Why did I wait so long?” I don’t know, why have you?  Casting your cares upon the LORD is free, y’know, why not take advantage of it?

1Pe 5:10  But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
How long will you have to suffer?  Until you wise up and take God up on His invitation.  You’re not waiting for God to lighten your load, He is waiting for YOU to surrender them to Him. Once you’ve done that, the job is not over yet, for the devil will keep telling you that you need to worry about this or that, and he will try to make you fear about your health, your job, your finances, hey, there is no end to the junk the devil can dig up for you to worry about.  But once you’ve learned to trust God, he will make you perfect in faith; that is to say MATURE, and establish you, solidly as a foundation of a good house, built upon the rock of His Word.  Every time YOUR strength is not sufficient to get the job done, He will give you HIS strength to draw from.  God never gets tired of taking care of His kids.  Just be sure you are one of His kids, and you can say goodbye to your worries forever.

The price of anxiety is just too high for you to pay, the payment is ALWAYS overdue with interest, and you can NEVER get caught up, and worry will never pay your bill.  So what are you waiting for?  Cast all your cares upon the LORD and walk away, for He is not worried how He will solve your problems, nor does He need your advice how to.
In closing, let me share Psalm 121 with you:

Psa 121:1 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
Psa 121:2  My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.
Psa 121:3  He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
Psa 121:4  Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
Psa 121:5  The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.
Psa 121:6  The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
Psa 121:7  The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
Psa 121:8  The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

Now THAT is good news!  If God neither slumber nor sleeps, there’s no need for YOU to stay up all night worrying about stuff anymore.  No worries, mate!  It’s all good!  Lay your burdens at the LORD’S feet and be free!   Your “Anxiety bill” is paid in full by the Lord Jesus and is hereby CANCELLED!  Get yourself a sign to hang on your wall: NO FEAR LIVES HERE!, and praise God!