1 Peter 5:7 (NKJV) Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
It is God’s will for us to experience peace, which is part of the abundant life, instead of living in anxiety. In fact, Jesus has given us His peace, but we need to maintain that peace by casting all our anxieties upon Him. The problem with many of us is that we think we are self-sufficient and don’t need help from anyone or God. Pride hinders us from humbling ourselves before God to ask for His help and intervention.
Philippians 4:6 (NKJV) Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.
The Apostle Paul encouraged us to pray in every circumstance and cast all our anxieties and worries unto God because God cares for us and hears us, but we need to articulate our stress to Him, tell Him how we feel, and thereafter believe by faith that His grace is infused into our hearts to see us through.
We need to know that once we are saved, we are no longer living without hope and God in this world. We have a natural tendency to think of the worst scenario whenever something happens to us, but anxiety is built on fear—fear of the unknown, or the possible scenarios. Fear is a spiritual force that can cripple and prevent us from doing anything. It keeps us busy thinking about the possible outcomes but contributes nothing to resolving the problem. Fear is an act of the evil one that causes us to focus on the issue instead of God, stealing the joy and peace in our lives.
As believers, we have the privilege of offloading our anxieties to God and resting in His love. God is bigger, wiser, more powerful, more resourceful, and limitless. God’s love established through an act of covenant commits Himself to be with us in good and bad times where our problem becomes His problem under the covenant obligations. If He has resolved our sin issue as our covenant partner, there is no problem in this life that He can’t solve. Understanding the covenant and knowing that God is our covenant partner enables us to draw on His resources.
There is no hopeless situation as long as God is in it. Prayer is the relief valve that God has given us, but prayer and casting our cares on Him are choices that we have to make. God invites us to an honest conversation and a time of fellowship with Him. Long prayers are not necessary but short sincere utterances of how we feel and experience. It also provides Him with a chance to assure us and bring Scripture into our memory as a form of comfort and strength.
Sermon Series: Up! Cell Group Campaign (Part 2)
有人顾念你
彼得前书 5:7 你们要将一切的忧虑卸给神，因为他顾念你们。
神的旨意是要我们经历平安，，而不是生活在焦虑之中，这是丰盛人生的一部分。事实上，耶稣已经将祂的平安赐给了我们，但我们需要将一切的挂虑卸给祂，从而保持这种平安。我们许多人的问题在于，我们认为自己是自给自足的，不需要任何人或 神的帮助。骄傲阻碍我们在 神面前谦卑自己来寻求祂的帮助和介入。
腓立比书 4:6 应当一无挂虑，只要凡事藉着祷告、祈求、和感谢，将你的所要的告诉神。
使徒保罗鼓励我们在任何情况下都要祷告，将一切的挂虑和担忧都卸给 神，因为 神顾念并聆听我们，但我们需要清楚的告诉祂我们的压力，告诉祂我们的感受，然后凭着信心相信祂的恩典会注入我们的心中，帮助我们渡过难关。
我们要知道，一旦我们得救，我们在这个世界上就不再是没有希望和没有 神地活着了。每当有什么事情发生在我们身上时，我们都会自然而然地想到最坏的情况，但挂虑是建立在恐惧之上的 — 对未知或可能发生的情况的恐惧。恐惧在属灵上效力，它能削弱和阻止我们做任何事情。它让我们忙于思考可能的结果，但这无助于问题的解决。恐惧是恶者的行为，它使我们专注于问题而不是 神，偷走了我们生命中的喜乐与平安。
作为信徒，我们有特权将我们的挂虑卸给 神，并在祂的爱中安息。神是那更大、更有智慧、更有能力、更足智多谋，和无限的。神的爱通过立约的行动所建立，在立约义务下祂承诺在顺境和逆境中与我们同在，我们的问题成了祂的问题。如果祂作为我们的盟约伙伴解决了我们的罪的问题，那么在今生就没有祂解决不了的问题。藉着了解盟约并知道 神是我们的盟约伙伴，我们就能支取祂的资源。
只要有 神同在，就没有绝望的情况。祷告是 神赐给我们的减压阀，但祷告和将我们的忧虑卸给祂是我们必须做出的选择。 神邀请我们与祂坦诚地对话和与祂相交。我们不需要长篇大论的祷告，只需简短真诚地说出我们的感受和经历。这也让祂有机会给于我们肯定，并将经文带入我们的记忆中，作为一种安慰和力量。
讲章系列：天天向上! 细胞小组运动（第二部分）
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