Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7 (NIV)
I never considered myself an anxious person, but the more kids we add to our home, the more anxiety I feel. I’ve lain awake at night thinking about homeschooling more children, about sibling relationships, and about emotional and academic shortcomings in my kids. I’ve worried about not having enough grocery money and setting up dentist appointments—seven dentist appointments. Nearly every time I see a blank space on the calendar, I worry I’m missing something important that we’re supposed to be doing.
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Since becoming a Christian, I have known there were “big” things I should take to Jesus in prayer, but as the years have passed I’ve learned that Jesus cares about all my little anxieties too. He listens to my prayers about which homeschooling curriculum to buy just as well as He listened to my prayers for my grandfather when he was dying of cancer. There aren’t big anxieties or small ones in His eyes. We are urged to cast all of our anxieties on Him. Or as Philippians 4:6–7 (NLT) says, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
Do you have anxieties? Turn them over to Jesus. Thank Him for His answers, and soon His peace will guard your heart and mind. These are free gifts from Jesus, but it’s our job to turn over whatever burdens us for the peace that only He can give.
FAITH STEP: Create a prayer jar. Get a jar and set it in a special place. Whenever you have an anxiety or worry, write it down and put it into the jar as a symbol of offering it up to Jesus.
