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Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

1 Peter 5:7 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/1pe.5.7.NLT

We all unintentionally tend to carry around worries and cares, which weigh on our spirit, emotions, body and intellect. There can be a tendency to let issues we are concerned about dominate our lives to the point of losing sleep, eating poorly and impacting our relationships.

Peter is writing to church leaders, known as Elders, to give all worries and cares to God. This is great counsel for all of us. The key to Peter’s counsel is to give. We aren’t being asked to manage our worries and cares, rather we are being encourage to give them to God. Peter is not asking us just to talk through them with someone else, he is asking us to give them to no one less than God.

I like to give good things to others, not hard things. To give my worries and cares to God takes humility, as there are issues and people I am concerned about that are beyond me. I need someone else’s help. Peter points us straight to God.

One more thing Peter wants us to be clear on. God cares for you and me. What great news.

Encouragement:  Take time to give your worries and cares to God.  Make a list. Speak each one to God. Dear God, I am giving You the worry I have over my ___________________. (Take time, and be specific. Remember, God knows you, loves you, and cares for you.)

Prayer: Dear Father God, thank you for taking time to love and care for me. Thank you for having the capacity to receive my worries and cares. I am giving You the issues in my life that are wearing on me. I need Your help. I want Your care. Thank You for receiving what I am giving to You. 

In Jesus name I pray, Amen

-Ed McDowell, Executive Director
Warm Beach Camp and Conference Center