“Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”
for
Here, the word “for” is causative: “because He cares for you.” This term is not a word of explanation, as it is translated “for” in some versions, such as the NKJV, but cause. The concept of cause makes this phrase the most significant statement in this verse. Why do we cast our anxieties on God? “Because” we understand something about the nature of God.
What then is the basis for casting our anxieties on the Lord? It is that God cares for us. We can translate this phrase literally as “Because it is a care to Him for you,” or, “Because you are His concern.” This idea is fundamental because we must first understand who God is and that He cares for us before we can cast our anxieties. If we trust God’s providential care for us, we can rest in his omnipotent and omniscient management of our affairs.
He cares
“Cares” in this clause is different from the word “care” in the first clause, “casting all your care [anxiety] upon Him.” This word does not mean anxiety but watchful care.
“But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, ‘Teacher, do You not care [watchful care] that we are perishing?'” (Mark 4:38).
We need to acknowledge that God cares for us and that no opposition against us or problem can be of any ultimate consequence (Romans 8:31). God sustains us because He cares; that is, he sovereignty watches over each issue of our lives. He leaves nothing unaddressed.
God does not share our burdens, but He bears them, all of them. Our problems do not get the Lord down because He is omnipotent. God is all-potent, all-powerful.
PRINCIPLE:
God is our caretaker!
APPLICATION:
Anxiety contradicts true humility. Thousands have come to know Christ as their sin-bearer, but few know him as their burden-bearer. Unbelief is the exaltation of self against God. If we depend upon ourselves and do not trust God with our problems, we rely upon our capacity, not God’s.
But God cares more about our welfare than we ever could. Moreover, He has an infinitely greater capacity to care for us. Rejection of this principle is pride. Pride is at the foundation of most of our anxiety. We feel it is humiliating to cast everything upon someone else. Jesus argued that self-reliance is why we fill our lives with anxiety (Matthew 6:25-34).
Remember, whenever God says or does anything, there is always a reason behind it. God possesses indescribable intelligence. He has never had to learn anything since He has always known everything. Is your god smaller than that? The God of the Bible is not only omniscient (knows everything), but He is also omnipotent (all-powerful) and omnipresent (everywhere present). There is a big difference between human resources and divine resources.
God is never surprised, astounded, or shocked. He is never in a bind. God is never on the horns of a dilemma. When He says you are to cast, there is a reason. God never asks anything of us that is unreasonable. God’s commandments are his enablements.
You have probably heard someone speak of a so-called carefree person, “That guy doesn’t have a care in the world.” But is that true? Not on your life! We all have things we are concerned about to one degree or another. Even if we do not wring our hands with worry, we all have concerns.
Some years ago, Vance Havner told a story of an ailing old lady beset with troubles — real and imaginary. Finally, people told her, “We’ve done all for you that we can. You will just have to trust God for your problem.” She replied, “Oh, dear, has it come to that?” Havner said, “It always comes to that, so we might as well begin with that.”
