Casting Cares
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Well, here we are getting ready for school to be out for the summer. Less than 19 days of school left! But this time of year things get pretty heck-tic doesn’t it? In fact, this time of year, I get stressed out!
Tension
Tension
Tension
Tension
Life is stressful.
Life is stressful.
Life is stressful.
Not just school, family, sports, the future, but all of it. Then you throw on top of the regular stress a teacher who decides at the last minute to add something to your assignment list like they are the only teacher you have homework with. Your parents start to say things like Helen & I have said to our kids. “You never eat dinner with us anymore.” “All you do is sit in your room with the door closed.” Then you start sitting with them and you get bombarded with questions like, “So, what are you going to major in when you go to college?” “What are your plans after graduation?”
Then you have the stuff like planning a dramatic promposal, group presentations that no one else did there work on, finding a way to avoid changing in front of others in gym class, and figuring out how to avoid that one person at school who is just a jerk.
It all adds up after a while and it begins to take its toll on us. Well, tonight we are going to look at a piece of scripture that was written to a group of believers who were stressed out.
So, while in Rome, Peter wrote a letter. For them it wasn’t the end of school, they were not wrestling with when or how to ask for a prom date, the person in charge of the ruling Rome, Nero, decided he was going to set the city ablaze and blame it on the Christians and was setting them on fire to light his gardens and the streets at night. He was putting them in the coliseum to be fed to wild animals for public entertainment. Needless to say, they were stressed out.
So, while in Rome, Peter wrote a letter.
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.
It all adds up after a while and takes a toll on us.
We can’t run on constant mental and emotional overload. It will affect our attitudes and the way we treat others.
We can’t run on constant mental and emotional overload. It will affect our attitudes and the way we treat others.
The thing is, the impact of busyness and a high-demand life isn’t always clear. But if you were honest, there are probably some common things that happen when you feel stressed:
· You’re constantly irritated.
· You can’t stop feeling like something bad is about to happen.
· You feel like you can’t enjoy one thing, because you’re worried about what might
happen next.
· You feel panicked, like you can’t handle it all.
· You feel like a big disappointment, because as much as you want do everything well, you aren’t. Or you can’t.
If your stress makes your heart race, gives you a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach, and feels like an ache in your shoulders, just know that your body is physically reacting to the stress you’re carrying around. Maybe you find it hard to eat, or maybe you eat too much. Maybe you find it hard to sleep, or maybe you sleep too much.
Whatever it looks like for you, stress is definitely affecting your quality of living.
It’s rough, but we tell ourselves, “That’s just how it is.” That’s just the way it is when you . . .
· Have parents like mine.
· Play a sport like this one.
· Take academics this seriously.
· Have this hard of a time with school.
· Are on varsity, student council, debate team, dance, theatre, or whatever it is for you.
Besides, isn’t this what you’re supposed to do? Aren’t the “good,” high-achieving students (and successful adults) always a little stressed out?
Even if a stressful life is true for a lot of people, do you want it to be true for you? Aren’t you tired of feeling the physical reactions to the speed of your life and brain, and the amount of stuff you have going on in your life?
Sure, you can keep going like this. But what if I told you it could cost you something significant?
The worst things about living a life that’s stressed out and anxious is the feeling that you’re alone.
The worst things about living a life that’s stressed out and anxious is the feeling that you’re alone.
Like, everybody else is doing okay, but you feel terrible!
One of the reasons I love the Bible is because it’s real stories of real people. So no matter what you’re facing, you aren’t the first and you won’t be the last.
TRUTH
TRUTH
4 MINUTES
In a letter cleverly titled First Peter, The apostle Peter writes to a group of his friends:
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.
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Other translations of this verse say, “Cast all your cares” or, “Cast all your worries.” We don’t use the word “cast” ever in our day-to-day lives, but it just means to throw. It’s like when you throw a fishing line in the water. Or when two people play catch and throw a baseball to each other.
Peter wrote this letter to a group of churches in Asia Minor who were suffering from religious persecution. These people knew what it was like to live stressed out! While they had found a genuine faith by discovering what God was really like, ruling authorities wanted nothing to do with it: They saw people who followed Jesus as a threat. And they were willing to go to extreme measures to get rid of them.
They had worries, stress, and anxiety, and Peter writes to offer them hope by saying this:
Cast your cares on Him because He cares for you.
Cast your cares on Him because He cares for you.
Maybe you want to roll your eyes when you hear this. It’s like when you’re stressed out and someone says something like . . .
· “Don’t worry.”
· “It’ll all be okay.”
· “Just trust God.”
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
And you’re thinking, “Oh, that’s helpful . . . not.”
It feels like the verse is just telling us to magically not feel stressed, and we know that’s just not possible. We want to do something. So we worry. We have the same conversations over and over in our minds, we check to-do lists, scroll through our phones, or text everyone we know about how stressed we are.
However . . .
Peter isn’t telling us to not stress; he gives us something to do.
Peter isn’t telling us to not stress; he gives us something to do.
Think about fishing. To get your bait in front of some fish, you have to cast your line into the water. And this takes some practice. If you’ve never been fishing before, casting a fishing line is awkward. For people who’ve been fishing their whole lives, it’s natural and easy!
This is what Peter is telling us: It takes practice.
By the way, Peter was one of the guys who walked with Jesus and knew Him well. In fact, in one of his more famous moments, Peter was on a boat in a storm and saw Jesus walking on water. Jesus invited Peter to join Him. Peter literally walked on the sea to get to Jesus. It’s a great story and totally worth reading, but here’s what I don’t want you to miss: When Peter says “cast your anxiety on God,” it isn’t just a nice thought. He’s speaking from experience! He knows exactly what it’s like to be in a stressful situation and trust Jesus. (By the way, when Peter took his eyes off Jesus on the water, he started sinking.) It’s as if he’s saying to his friends, “Listen, I’ve experienced this. I know what I’m talking about. You don’t have to live in fear, stress, and anxiety. Don’t just mildly give your cares to God. GO FOR IT. Throw them His way.
Whatever stresses you out, whether it’s big or small, is still significant. Why? Because it causes you stress and worry.
Whatever it is, God can handle it. He wants to handle it.
Whatever it is, God can handle it. He wants to handle it.
· He wants the best for you.
· He wants you to live a great life.
· He wants you to trust Him to handle the things you can’t—because He can.
He wants you to cast your cares on Him because He cares for you.
What Peter is saying is a big deal. Because—ahead of his time—Peter knew that stress, anxiety, and fear are a big deal.
Because here’s some truth about stress and anxiety:
· Stress is the basic cause of 60% of all human illness and disease. [1]
· Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the US.1
· 44% of stressed people lose sleep every night.1
I could go on. The point is that stress and anxiety are a big deal in our world. And I can promise you this: They’re a big deal to God! He doesn’t want you to live your life not operating at full capacity because you’re weighed down by worries He can carry for you!
Application
Application
2 MINUTES
What should someone actually do to cast their cares on God?
1. Talk to God.
1. Talk to God.
Learn to name the thing that creates stress, worry, and anxiety, and tell Him about it. Dig deep and think through the real causes of your stress. Is it the pressure of grades or sports? Or is it not wanting to let anyone down or make anyone mad? Whatever the cause is, talk through it with God.
Casting your cares on God is a HUGE first step, but there’s more to it:
2. Talk to someone else.
2. Talk to someone else.
You can’t carry stress and anxiety alone. God is big, and He listens to everything we tell Him, but He has also put other people in your life. So confide in someone who can help you carry your burdens.
3. Learn helpful practices.
3. Learn helpful practices.
This is really important for when you’re feeling the physical symptoms of stress and anxiety—when you can’t get your body or your mind to turn it off.
Figure out what practice works best for you to confront stress.
· Maybe it’s writing down all the things that are bothering you.
· Maybe it’s drawing a picture or using a coloring book. (Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. There’s a reason adult coloring books are making a fortune right now. They actually help!)
· Maybe it’s learning to take deep breaths to slow your breathing and bring your heart rate down when the anxiety feels overpowering.
· Maybe it’s going for a walk.
Whatever it is, learn what settles you down. And here’s a hint: There are things that seem to “settle you down” that will eventually create more stress. If you find yourself “relaxing” with alcohol, porn, drugs, cutting, or anything else that hurts you, it isn’t actually stress relief. It’s a stress-generator, and it’s something you need to share with an adult so they can help you find another way to deal with stuff.
4. Make it a habit.
4. Make it a habit.
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God has created countless ways to cast our cares on Him. And learning the best way for us to do that, and then doing it over and over again, will make us better at handling stress and anxiety when it comes our way. No matter who you are, learning how to cope with your stress and anxiety is a good thing. And trusting that you have a Heavenly Father who wants to help you is a great place to start.
1 MINUTE
As you head out, I want you to imagine if you actually practiced casting your stress on God. And imagine if it worked. And imagine if it became something you do naturally. How could that change your life now? What would it mean for your life in the future? In college? At work? With your own future family?
It would be a game-changer!
You could live a life out-of-the-ordinary! You could be a high schooler, and one day an adult in your 20’s, 30’s, and beyond, who had a rare life, because you didn’t live your life stressed out
and anxious!
It’ll take some practice, but you’ll be glad you did. And your life will be better because of it.
[1] https://www.stress.org/stress-is-killing-you/