Humility and Trust: Casting Our Cares on God

Devotional

Day 1: Humility as Recognition of God's Sovereignty

True humility involves acknowledging God's sovereignty and trusting in His perfect plans. It is an act of faith that allows us to release our anxieties, knowing that God is in control and cares for us deeply. When we humble ourselves, we recognize that our wisdom is limited and that God's plans are perfect. This humility is not just a passive acceptance but an active trust in God's providence. It requires us to let go of our need to control every aspect of our lives and to trust that God is working all things for our good. By doing so, we can experience peace and joy, even in the midst of life's challenges. [01:07]

1 Peter 5:6-7 (ESV): "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."

Reflection: What is one area of your life where you struggle to trust God's sovereignty? How can you practice humility by surrendering this area to Him today?

Day 2: Distinguishing Between Legitimate and Selfish Cares

Not all cares are meant to be cast upon God. Selfish and carnal cares, such as those driven by covetousness or ambition, should be uprooted through humility and obedience to God's precepts. These are the anxieties that arise from our own desires and imaginations, and they often lead us away from the humility that God desires. Instead, we are called to cast our legitimate cares upon God—those that align with His will and purpose for our lives. These include concerns about daily needs, the well-being of our children, and the spiritual battles we face. By distinguishing between these types of cares, we can better align our lives with God's will. [02:30]

James 4:3 (ESV): "You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions."

Reflection: Identify a care or concern in your life that may be driven by selfish ambition. How can you realign this concern with God's will and purpose?

Day 3: The Sin of Presumptive Anxiety

Excessive anxiety is a form of presumption, implying that we know better than God. It leads to a lack of trust in His promises and can result in sin and spiritual misery. This anxiety not only affects our spiritual health but also our usefulness in God's service. When we are burdened by care, we are less effective in our work for the Kingdom. The remedy is clear: cast your cares upon God. This act of faith requires us to trust in His love and provision. By doing so, we can experience peace and joy, even amidst life's challenges. [06:59]

Matthew 6:31-32 (ESV): "Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all."

Reflection: Reflect on a recent situation where anxiety led you to doubt God's promises. How can you choose to trust Him more fully in similar situations in the future?

Day 4: God as Our Burden-Bearer

We are invited to cast our legitimate cares upon God, trusting in His love and provision. This act of faith allows us to experience peace and joy, even amidst life's challenges. By recognizing God as our burden-bearer, we can live in the freedom that comes from knowing that He is in control. This freedom is not an escape from responsibility but a release from the weight of anxiety that can hinder our spiritual growth and effectiveness. God's love is unfailing, and His promises are sure, providing comfort and assurance in every circumstance. [21:20]

Psalm 55:22 (ESV): "Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved."

Reflection: What is one burden you are carrying today that you need to cast upon God? How can you practically do this and trust Him to sustain you?

Day 5: God's Providential Care for His Children

God's providence is both universal and particular, caring for all creation and especially for His children. His promises are sure, and His love is unfailing, providing comfort and assurance. This understanding of God's providential care should lead us to a deeper trust in His plans and a greater willingness to cast our cares upon Him. By doing so, we can experience the peace that comes from knowing that God is in control and that He is working all things for our good. This trust in God's providence is a source of strength and encouragement, enabling us to face life's challenges with confidence and hope. [46:27]

Isaiah 46:4 (ESV): "Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save."

Reflection: How does understanding God's providential care change the way you view your current challenges? What steps can you take to trust Him more deeply in these areas?

Sermon Summary

In reflecting on 1 Peter 5:6-7, the call to humble ourselves under God's mighty hand and cast our cares upon Him is both a profound invitation and a challenge. The scripture reminds us that God cares deeply for us, and thus, we are encouraged to relinquish our burdens to Him. However, not all cares are meant to be cast upon God. Selfish and carnal cares, such as those driven by covetousness or ambition, are not of His sending and should not be laid at His feet. These are the anxieties that arise from our own desires and imaginations, and they often lead us away from the humility that God desires.

True humility before God involves recognizing His sovereignty and trusting in His providence. When we humble ourselves, we acknowledge that our wisdom is limited and that God’s plans are perfect. This humility allows us to release our anxieties, knowing that God is in control. The cares that we are invited to cast upon God are those that align with His will and purpose for our lives. These include legitimate concerns about daily needs, the well-being of our children, and the spiritual battles we face.

The sermon also highlights the dangers of excessive anxiety, which can lead to sin and misery. Anxious care is a form of presumption, as it implies that we know better than God. It can lead to a lack of trust in His promises and a reliance on our own understanding. This anxiety not only affects our spiritual health but also our usefulness in God’s service. When we are burdened by care, we are less effective in our work for the Kingdom.

The remedy is clear: cast your cares upon God. This act of faith requires us to trust in His love and provision. It is a call to live in the freedom that comes from knowing that God is our burden-bearer. By doing so, we can experience peace and joy, even in the midst of life's challenges. We are reminded that God’s providence is universal and particular, caring for all creation and especially for His children. His promises are sure, and His love is unfailing.

Key Takeaways

1. Humility and Trust: True humility involves recognizing God's sovereignty and trusting in His perfect plans. By humbling ourselves, we can release our anxieties, knowing that God is in control and cares for us deeply. [01:07]
2. Distinguishing Cares: Not all cares are meant to be cast upon God. Selfish and carnal cares, such as those driven by covetousness or ambition, should be uprooted through humility and obedience to God’s precepts. [02:30]
3. The Sin of Anxiety: Excessive anxiety is a form of presumption, implying that we know better than God. It leads to a lack of trust in His promises and can result in sin and spiritual misery. [06:59]
4. God as Burden-Bearer: We are invited to cast our legitimate cares upon God, trusting in His love and provision. This act of faith allows us to experience peace and joy, even amidst life's challenges. [21:20]
5. God’s Providential Care: God’s providence is both universal and particular, caring for all creation and especially for His children. His promises are sure, and His love is unfailing, providing comfort and assurance. [46:27]
** [46:27]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:15] - Introduction to 1 Peter 5:6-7
[00:36] - The Preceding Duty of Humility
[01:07] - Selfish Cares and God's Will
[02:30] - Ambition and Covetousness
[03:40] - Imaginary Anxieties
[05:18] - The Disease of Care
[06:59] - Anxiety as Sin
[09:32] - The Misery of Anxiety
[13:54] - Anxiety Weakens Usefulness
[16:38] - God's Promise to Care for Us
[21:37] - Legitimate Cares and God's Provision
[29:07] - Parental Concerns
[33:34] - Spiritual Cares and God's Assurance
[37:55] - Ecclesiastical Cares
[46:27] - God's Providential Care

Bible Study Guide

Observation Questions

What does 1 Peter 5:6-7 instruct believers to do with their cares, and why? ([00:15])
According to the sermon, what types of cares are not meant to be cast upon God? ([01:07])
How does the sermon describe the nature of excessive anxiety and its impact on spiritual life? ([06:59])
What analogy does the sermon use to illustrate the futility of carrying our own burdens instead of casting them on God? ([14:25])

Interpretation Questions

How does the call to humility in 1 Peter 5:6 relate to the act of casting our cares upon God? What does this suggest about the relationship between humility and trust? ([00:36])
In what ways does the sermon suggest that excessive anxiety can lead to sin, and how does this affect a believer's relationship with God? ([06:59])
How does the sermon explain the concept of God as our "burden-bearer," and what implications does this have for how believers should handle their legitimate concerns? ([21:20])
What does the sermon suggest about the role of faith in overcoming anxiety and experiencing God's peace and joy? ([21:37])

Application Questions

Reflect on a time when you struggled with anxiety. How did you handle it, and what might you do differently now in light of 1 Peter 5:6-7? ([06:59])
Identify a specific care or worry you are currently holding onto. How can you practically cast this care upon God this week? ([21:20])
The sermon mentions that selfish and carnal cares should not be cast upon God. How can you distinguish between legitimate concerns and those driven by selfish desires in your own life? ([01:07])
Consider the areas of your life where you might be presuming to know better than God. How can you practice humility and trust in His plans this week? ([06:59])
How can you incorporate the practice of prayer and thanksgiving, as mentioned in Philippians 4:6-7, into your daily routine to combat anxiety? ([28:29])
Think of a person in your life who is burdened by anxiety. How can you support them in casting their cares upon God? ([21:20])
Reflect on the sermon’s message about God’s providential care. How can this assurance change the way you approach challenges and uncertainties in your life? ([46:27])

Sermon Clips

"True humility before God involves recognizing His sovereignty and trusting in His providence. When we humble ourselves, we acknowledge that our wisdom is limited and that God’s plans are perfect. This humility allows us to release our anxieties, knowing that God is in control. The cares that we are invited to cast upon God are those that align with His will and purpose for our lives." [00:01:07]

"Selfish carnal cares which we must not cast upon God it were an insult to him it were an act of infamy on our part if we should venture to ask for his assistance in them those are the cares which would never molest us at all if we were obedient to the precept humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God." [00:01:07]

"Excessive anxiety is a form of presumption, implying that we know better than God. It leads to a lack of trust in His promises and can result in sin and spiritual misery. This anxiety not only affects our spiritual health but also our usefulness in God’s service. When we are burdened by care, we are less effective in our work for the Kingdom." [00:06:59]

"Anxious care is the imagining that we are wiser than God and the thrusting of ourselves into his place to do for him that which we dream he either cannot or will not do. We attempt to think of that which we fancy he will forget or we labor to take upon ourselves that burden which he either is not able or willing to carry for us." [00:06:59]

"Cast your cares upon God. This act of faith requires us to trust in His love and provision. It is a call to live in the freedom that comes from knowing that God is our burden-bearer. By doing so, we can experience peace and joy, even in the midst of life's challenges." [00:21:20]

"God’s providence is both universal and particular, caring for all creation and especially for His children. His promises are sure, and His love is unfailing, providing comfort and assurance. We are reminded that God’s providence is universal and particular, caring for all creation and especially for His children." [00:46:27]

"Let the thought of his special love to you be the very essence of your comfort I will never leave thee nor forsake thee God says that as much to you as he said it to any saint of old fear not I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward." [00:47:44]

"Leave your cares with God and care for him make you his service your Delight your wants shall be his care. The subject would not be complete if I did not add that these carking cares of whose guilt perhaps we think so little do very great damage to our blessed and holy cause." [00:16:38]

"Think next of his particular Providence over all the saints precious shall their blood be in his sight precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his Saints we know that all things work together for good to them that love God to them that are called according to his purpose." [00:46:27]

"Let us hold out the sweet inducement of the second part of the sentence in order that Believers may be led to attempt the practicing of the precept he carth for you first then let us endeavor to describe the disease of care the care mentioned in the text even though it be exercised upon legitimate objects." [00:05:18]

"Let us speak on this wise first for a few minutes let us expound this disease of care giving some description of it secondly let us manifest the Blessed remedy of the text endeavoring in God's name to apply it and lastly let us hold out the sweet inducement of the second part of the sentence." [00:05:18]

"Let the fact that while he is the savior of all men he is especially the savior of them that believe let that cheer and comfort you that special Providence which Watches Over The Chosen the angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him." [00:46:27]

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