When the Apostle Peter wrote about godly living, he expressed a clear sense of reality. When he addressed the “cares” of this life, Peter understood them to be the issues that weigh people down. They are those things that can distract a person from the important matters in the walk of life. His admonishment to us is one of “… casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).
From this passage, it certainly appears that the ability to cast all our cares upon Christ stems from the development of humility. “… Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time” (1 Peter 5:5-6). From that position, we are then encouraged to cast our cares upon Christ.
Humility is the suppression of self. This is not an intellectual exercise but a deeply spiritual recognition of self. The natural self is not in need of anyone else because it is self-sufficient. Self is pure in its own eyes (Proverbs 16:2). This mind can handle the cares of this life without God’s help. We can see this having played out over and over with the nation of ancient Israel.
For instance, when Moses was up on the mountain with God, the people saw it as Moses delaying his return. And they became impatient. Did they cast their concern upon God? No! They took matters into their own hands and made an idol to be their god. They did what was right in their own eyes.
The deterioration of society weighs heavily on our shoulders. Perhaps what might appear to be a delay in the return of Christ – or at least His not returning as quickly as we would like – could produce a similar mindset. The fact that there is nothing we can do to prevent what one writer describes as “… the ruthless destruction of everything existing” can be a weight and a distraction.
Striving to live a changed life in an environment we can’t change can weigh us down. Humanly we will want to take actions that prevent the destruction from becoming too personal. It becomes tempting to build our own golden calf. That is, doing what seems right to us.
Humility takes us down a different road. When we really come to see ourselves, the realization that there is nothing I am, or that I can do, that will have any effect on current conditions allows us to let God deal with it. The Apostle Paul said it this way. “But ‘he who glories, let him glory in the Lord.’ For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends” (2 Corinthians 10:17-18).
Whom does the Lord commend? “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). Deep repentance strengthens humility. And humility will help us cast all our care upon Him.
Brian Orchard
