Dumping the Load (1 Peter 5:7)

“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” (1 Peter 5:6–7, AV)

Many years ago, my daughter and her husband with their children came to visit us in Georgia. One morning, we decided to take the grandchildren over to the playground at the school across the street. After an hour or two, we decided to walk back across the field. The youngest boy, Budd-Jack was interested in collecting stones during his walk and putting them in his pocket. As we walked, I noticed that his pockets were bulging and his pants were beginning to fall down. He was struggling to keep them up, but was managing. So, I went over and asked him, “Budd-Jack, do you want papa to carry the stones for you?” He said, “No!” He wanted to carry them by himself. However, as he continued to struggle, he began to get tired and relented from his refusal of help. Finally, he allowed me to carry the load for him.

The previous devotion dealt with how God uses the circumstances of life to humble us. This was in the context of persecution and tribulation. In this devotion we will consider the stubborn pride of people that refuse to permit the Lord to help us in life.

My grandson, Budd-Jack, was determined that he was going to get all the way back to our home without my help. He did not need it. He was a little guy at the time and I knew that he had way too many stones in his pockets to make the journey. Yet, he needed to come to a place where he would ask for my help. I was not going to force him to give me the stones in his pockets. He needed to do it willingly. This is a perfect illustration of the stubborn pride of people.

The Lord wants to carry our heavy loads and He is fully capable. Peter wrote “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” Humility is essential for without it we will not cast our cares on one who truly does care for us. The word “care,” merimma, is from the verb merizo, which carries with it the idea of distraction (Strong G3308). Our cares or burdens are loads that can distract us and influence us while we are on the path of serving and glorifying God.

Too often, believers choose to carry their own burdens rather than unload them. We try everything and just get weighted down and become ineffective. These burdens may be the mistreatment of others, such as persecution for our faith. However, there are a plethora of other things that can weigh us down like finances, relationships, health, etc. We need to realize that our Lord wants to take these burdens from us. We are to cast them on Him. The word “casting” can also be translated as throwing (Strong G1977). However, to throw something we must let go of it. We need to let go of our troubles and literally let the Lord have them. We need to trust Him with them.

Often, I have worried about how someone has taken a decision I have made or a word that I have spoken. Even though these have been perfectly correct, I still was anxious about how they were taken. I came to the conclusion that I had a choice. I could give them over to Jesus or carry the anxiety. I chose to give them to Jesus. Do not let anxiety, worry, and fear weigh you down. Let go of them and throw these things upon Jesus. He cares for you and will carry them.