Thursday, January 30, 2014

1 Peter 5:7-8

1 Peter 5:7-8 says "Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.  Be self-controlled and alert."
I've read this verse before.  In fact, I've read it over and over when I was feeling anxious.  But, I don't know that I've ever tried to take it deeper than the words that are written.  What does it mean to me?

I took some time with this one!   The very first word, cast, gave me a lot of insight.  That doesn't simply mean give.  I means to hurl - throw it away from you towards God.  LOSE it!  Lose that anxiety!
And not just some of it - give it all away!
The definition of anxiety says it is caused by fear.  And 2 Timothy 1:7 says that God does not give us a spirit of fear.  That anxiety was never meant to be ours in the first place!
Why do we need to give him our fear?  Because he cares about us!  He loves us and has great plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11).
Once we give our anxieties to him, we are off the hook, right?  Nope!  he wants us to do our part - to work for it with his help.  It won't be easy, but we can do it without fear and doubt.

So, if I were to re-write 1 Peter 5:7-8, it would look like this:
Lose my fear and doubt to God, throw it at Him!  He's got this!  He loves me and has better plans for me than I can make for myself.  But I'm not off the hook.  I must focus on the goal and make good choices. I need to stay aware of fear and doubt when they try to creep back.  
How do you see these verses working in your own life?

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9 comments:

Cindy said...

I'm new to the Proverbs 31 Online Bible Studies and the verse mapping seemed a little confusing...but your post today totally made sense to me. I need to start verse mapping. I like how you broke out this week's verse...it's very encouraging!

Mandee said...

Thanks, Cindy! This is my first P31 OBS too. I had never done any verse mapping myself, but I gave it a shot and now I love it!
It has become an important tool to me.

Linda Hagopian said...

Loved your mapping of the verse!! And I have to say that your photo is so cute - I made that same face today as I drank down my fiber mixed into a glass of water. Yukkkk!! But such a beneficial choice of beverage.
God bless you!

Kim said...

Oh my I LOVED this!!! Thank you so very much for sharing!!! I read your blog last week and found this one today--inspiration!!!! God bless you!!!

Tonya W said...

Love this verse and your verse mapping!!!!! What do you use to do the mapping? I really like that!

Unknown said...
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Unknown said...

Hello Mandee,
I found your post to be very thought provoking and I really appreciate the way you demonstrated verse mapping. The other scriptures have been significant verses in my personal walk with the Lord. Thanks for sharing your insight into the word "cast" because I now have a totally different perspective on true meaning of the word and this verse. I think that I will rewrite this verse as well. I will keep you in my prayers and may His peace be yours continually.
Roberta Denise Gabriel, OBS Leader, Group 18

Mandee said...

Thank you, Roberta! That is why I love verse mapping so much. It has brought new understanding to several verses already. I am so excited about this study!

Tonya W said...

Thanks for the info on Notability app. I downloaded and used it for my verse mapping as well. I hope you don't mind - but I did give you a shout-out on my blog! http://heartandsoulscrappers.blogspot.com/2014/01/1-peter-57-8-m2c-blog-hop-2.html