What To Do When You Are Worried

What to Do When You Are Worried

1 Peter 5:5-11

Sermon by Rick Crandall

McClendon Baptist Church - Oct. 8, 2008

*What are you worried about the most?

-The economy? -The election? -Or something else going on in your life?

*We know as Christians that we are not supposed to worry. Jesus tells us not to worry four times in Matthew 6 -- but we do worry. God knew that we were going to have worries in life, so in 1 Peter 5 He tells us what to do about them.

1. First: Put on a submissive, serving heart.

*As Peter said in vs. 5&6, “You younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.”

*God wants His followers to put on a servant heart with a deep sense of humility. As Peter said in vs. 5, “Be clothed with humility.” A. T. Robertson suggested that when Peter wrote those words, he may have been thinking back to the night before Jesus died on the cross. The Lord wrapped Himself in a servant’s towel and began to wash His disciples’ feet. (1)

*God wants us to have that same kind of humble attitude, and one reason why is because a humble, serving spirit will help take our mind off our worries. At least for a while we will stop being the center of our world, as we focus on the needs of others.

*Many times church members have told me about visiting someone who was homebound or sick. These servants made their visits wanting to help the people they visited, but they came away saying they got a whole lot more than they gave. When you are worried, start serving someone else. It will almost certainly help take your mind off your own problems.

2. Whenever you are worried, put on a submissive, serving heart. But also cast your cares on the Lord.

*In vs. 7 Peter tells believers to “cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” The idea there is to do it quickly. Don’t wait around. Throw your cares on the Lord.

*John Piper tells us:

-This word "casting" occurs one other time in the New Testament--in Luke 19:35, in exactly the same form. It’s Palm Sunday and the disciples have been sent to get the donkey for Jesus to ride on. Then verse 35 says, "They brought it to Jesus, and casting their garments on the colt, they set Jesus on it."

-So the meaning is simple and straight forward: if you have a garment on and you want an animal to carry it for you, you "cast" the garment on the animal. In this way you don’t carry it anymore. It’s on the animal not on you. The donkey works for you and lifts your load.

-Well, God is willing to carry your anxieties the same way a donkey carries your baggage. One of the greatest things about the God of the Bible is that he commands us to let him work for us before commanding us to work for him.

-In Matt 11:28 Jesus said, "Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" Psalm 55:22 says, "Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you." And in Isaiah 46:4 the Lord tells us, “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" (2)

-“Cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” Sometimes when your world is crashing in, you may be tempted to think that the Lord doesn’t care for you. But always look back to the cross! God has done a million good things for us. But if He never did another thing, the cross would be enough! Jesus died on the cross to take the full punishment for our sins. And He rose again to give eternal life to all who will trust in Him. The cross of Christ forever proves God’s care for you! “Cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”

*Most of you know that our daughter Katie is a student at LSU. Katie said something last year that really inspired me. She called to tell me about how much she had been stressing out about things in her life. (You know how stressful it is to be 22!) Anyway, Katie was stressed -- but then she told me that she was praying about it. As she prayed, Katie told the Lord that she was going to imagine a box. Then she was going to put all her worries in that box and give them to Him. A little while later she caught herself worrying again, and she said, “Oh -- that goes in the box.”