What are you worrying about?

There used to be a terrible worrier in the office. Every day he'd arrive with a frown like the Rift Valley.

Till one day he was all smiles. 'What's happened?', colleagues asked. 'Oh, I've paid a consultant to do all my worrying - only £100 per day'. 'But', they gasped, 'however will you afford that?' Smiling, he replied: 'That's his worry!'

Worry is something that affects every one of us. No one is free of it. So the Scripture 'Cast all your anxiety on him, for he cares for you' (1 Peter 5.7) is directed to each of us. This verse says all Christians have worries, but God cares, and so we can trust him. Matthew Henry says of this verse: 'The best of Christians is apt to labour under the burden of anxieties and excessive cares ... the cares of a Christian are various ... personal care, family care, cares for the present, cares for the future, cares for themselves, cares for others, and for the church.'

Different types of worry

The word used in this verse means literally a divided mind torn in two directions. In the Scriptures the same word is used of four different types of worry.

Constructive care

This is how the word is used in 1 Corinthians 7.32, where Paul speaks of the married man as caring for his wife. This is not wrong. Here is a concern that leads to good, useful action. If I am worried it might rain, I take an umbrella. The word comes again in 1 Thessalonians 3.1. When Paul could bear his worry no longer, he sent Timothy to find out what was happening.

Necessary burden

Some worries are a part and parcel of the task the Lord has given us. Paul lists in 2 Corinthians 11 the tremendous suffering he has gone through to serve the Lord. Then he adds, above all else: 'the pressure of my concern for all the churches'. Every church leader knows what this is about. The point is that Paul was carrying his cross, he was doing what God wanted him to do, and part of that entailed the mental burden of caring for others. Each of us has a God-given task and each task carries its own worries.

I think of the aged Hudson Taylor, convalescing in Switzerland, and receiving telegram after telegram telling the awful tale of the Boxer rebellion. Over 500 CIM missionaries and many Chinese Christians were caught up in the troubles. As news of suffering and martyrdom came, Hudson Taylor said 'I cannot think, I cannot read, I cannot pray; I can only trust'. God had used him greatly in founding such an amazing mission into inland China, with such faith and vision. And the price was a care that few others could have borne.

Our nature/personality

The Bible rejoices in our diversity. Each person has their own gifts, their own strengths, their own personality. It is a wonderful part of creation. And part of that is that some of us worry about everything, while others seem to sail through difficulties without a ruffled feather. Mary sat and listened, while Martha worried about the practicalities. Thomas was inclined to depression: 'Let us go and die with him', he said. But what glory from doubting Thomas's confession: 'My Lord and my God' when he saw the risen Christ.

Martin Luther, tongue in cheek, wrote to his wife Catherine after a large piece of ceiling had fallen on his bed, 'I fear that unless you stop worrying the earth will swallow me up ... Do you not know the catechism? Pray, and let God take thought, as it is written "Cast all your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you".' Luther didn't seem to worry, but his wife certainly did - and not without reason.

Distracting concerns

This is the worry the Lord refers to in the parable of the sower and the seed, where worry is one of the things that chokes the life out of the plant. This is where Matthew 6 fits in: 'Do not worry'. Some people apply this in a simplistic way, saying worry is a sin. The context clearly refers to a mind divided between living for God and living for money, a person full of concern for his future prosperity. It is the same Greek word as is used in all the instances above, but this time it refers to wrong thoughts destroying the spiritual life. In a similar sense Matthew 10.19 refers to worrying about speaking up for the Saviour. Do not worry, but trust. If something takes away your determination to follow Christ, it is sin. Matthew Henry says: 'There is scarcely any one sin against which our Lord Jesus more largely and earnestly warns his disciples ... than the sin of disquieting, distracting and distrustful care about the things of this life.'

Chuck it on

Our verse says: 'Cast all your anxiety on Him, for he cares for you' (1 Peter 5.7). Whatever type of worry is bogging us down, cast it on him. The word is a strong one, speaking of deliberate action. It is used of those who threw their clothes in front of the donkey as Christ rode into Jerusalem, and of the effort with which the desperate sailors chucked overboard the rigging in Acts 27 to try to keep the boat afloat in the storm. We need to be definite and deliberate in casting our anxieties on the Lord. This is not just an invitation, it is an instruction. 'Throw the rubbish out!' Get on with it.

It includes all our worries. The verse says 'all' specifically. Whichever category our worries come under, cast them on the Saviour. It is said in love, of course. It's like saying: 'Let me carry that for you'.

God cares deeply about you

I can still remember the thrill when I discovered that the word describing God's care for us is completely different from the word used for our cares and worries. It means 'he has a concern about...'. We expect parents to be concerned, a friend too, ... but God??!!

In Exodus 3.7 God says: 'I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of the land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey.'

God's personal concern led to direct action.

Let us worship in awe at such a loving God. For us, of course, the supreme evidence of God's concern is in Calvary, as the Son of God suffered in our place.

How do we give our anxiety to him?

When riding a horse (they tell me!), for a smooth ride you have to learn to move with the animal! So, we need to learn to lean on the Lord. Of course, this assumes we have already trusted him for salvation. We cannot give him our cares until we have recognised he has taken our sins. Daily trust follows from committing our lives to the Saviour.

Constructive sort of worry?

Then commit the matter to God. Worry can be the God-given dynamic that forces us into action. Artificial diamonds are produced by great pressure and heat. Spiritual quality can result from being under pressure. So, Paul's journeys and his letters were produced by his worry for the churches. And all Christendom benefits from that. Paul had more worries than most, but they were soaked in prayer. He looked for God's blessing in all he did, was prepared for his overruling, asked for his wisdom, and thanked God for the results.

You are worried about a niece/nephew entering teenage years - the pull of the world is so strong. Your worry makes you spend extra time in prayer. You try to arrange for them to meet some keen young Christians. You write more often, and so on. Your constructive worry has been committed to God and led to a good result.

A necessary burden?

Then share it with God. As a storm drives the troubled ship to shore, so our worries should drive us into the shelter of his arms. After Paul's mention of the daily burden of the churches comes 2 Corinthians 12.9: 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness'. So, thank God for his adequacy for every situation. Pray for strength, enabling and wisdom. Be practical. Moses didn't complain about the burden of leadership, but he did accept the suggestion to delegate.

Your family or work situation seems intolerable. You can hardly bear it day by day. Thank God he is with you, day by day. Ask for understanding and forbearance. Pray about how things could be eased. Find a Christian who could understand. Rejoice that in your difficulty the grace of God is made more obvious.

The product of personality?

Then work at it with him. The rich variety of character is something to delight in. God made you as you are for a reason. The passage in Romans 12.1,2 about being living sacrifices is followed immediately by a paragraph about the various gifts we are all given, and the need for each of us to serve God accordingly. A picture is painted in many colours. Many instruments make good music.

Whatever your personality, learn to recognise your weak points and your strengths. Major on the latter, and don't rely on yourselves where you know you are weak. Develop practical strategies to protect yourself. Learn specific Bible verses. Don't pray for God to change you, but for him to mould and use you.

A distracting concern?

Then confess it to God. Remember it's not the birds that fly overhead, but the cuckoo that stays in the nest that causes the problem. In Mark 4.19, the seed sown is choked by the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of riches, and the love of other things. If this is happening to you, come straight to God asking for forgiveness and cleansing. Cast this burden on the Lord. These worries are like goose grass, that sticky weed that is so hard to eradicate, and twists itself round the plants you want to keep. Call it sin. Determine to be done with it.

Matthew Henry again: 'Throw your cares, which are so cutting and distracting, which wound your souls and pierce your hearts, upon the wise and gracious providence of God; trust in him with a firm composed mind, for he cares for you. He is willing to release you of your care, and take the care of you upon himself.'

And then Peter adds a final word (1 Peter 5.10,11). When we cast our cares on him, he will make us strong and steadfast in every situation.