Entrust Your Anxiety to Your Caring God
Daily Scripture
1 Peter 5:6-10
6 Therefore, humble yourselves under God’s power so that he may raise you up in the last day. 7 Throw all your anxiety onto him, because he cares about you. 8 Be clearheaded. Keep alert. Your accuser, the devil, is on the prowl like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith. Do so in the knowledge that your fellow believers are enduring the same suffering throughout the world. 10 After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, the one who called you into his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will himself restore, empower, strengthen, and establish you.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
Early Christians faced hostility, ostracism, and often persecution. They might be beaten, imprisoned, or even executed. About Peter’s warning that “the devil is on the prowl like a roaring lion,” scholar Craig Keener noted: “Lions were considered the most powerful predators; eventually some Christians were fed to literal ones.” * Peter sent them a stirring call. As they lived in conditions guaranteed to make people anxious, he urged them to bring all their anxieties to God in trusting prayer. Peter and those early Christians looked beyond this life’s boundaries. They trusted that all earthly struggles are only “for a little while,” while God restoring us to the fullness of ideal human life is an eternal reality.
- The Bible’s teaching about fearless living we’ve read this week is all linked. Scholar William Barclay wrote: “The Christian must cast all anxiety upon God. “Cast your burden on the Lord,” said the Psalmist (Psalm 55:22). “Do not be anxious about tomorrow,” said Jesus (Matthew 6:25–34). The reason we can do this with confidence is that we can be certain that God cares for us. As Paul had it, we can be certain that he who gave us his only Son will with him give us all things (Romans 8:32). We can be certain that, since God cares for us, life is out not to break us but to make us.” ** Read John 21:15-19 to see why Peter could say with such confidence that God will restore you—Jesus himself restored Peter after Peter’s denial. In what ways have you learned to trust that God cares for you? In what parts of life, if any, is it still hard for you to trust that?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, keep me clear-headed and alert. Let me use those qualities to bring my anxieties to you, rather than carrying them myself. I trust that you care for me and that my struggles are only “for a little while.” Amen.
GPS Insights
Faith Khumalo
During 2025 we are introducing you to writers from our global Missions partners every few weeks. They add perspective to our understanding of Resurrection's reach around the world.
Faith Khumalo, who serves as the Managing Director at Ditshego House of Laughter, wrote today's Insights. She is a dedicated Social Worker with vast experience in serving vulnerable populations. She became Managing Director in November, 2024, and oversees the development, implementation, and monitoring of programs aimed at promoting the well-being of children and their families. She is passionate about restoring a person’s dignity, building meaningful relationships, and celebrating cultural diversity. Faith is married with 2 sons who she loves to spend time with doing outdoor activities, gardening, and listening to music.
The month of January comes with New Years resolutions, plans and goals. Post-holiday blues, financial stress and new year pressures can boost anxiety levels. 1st Peter 5:6-10 reminds us to cast our anxieties on a caring God.
In verse 6, Peter reminds us as parents and caregivers that hardships and heartache are part of a Christian journey, but it is never without purpose. He encourages us to humble ourselves towards others and as Christians remember that our mission is to serve.
In addition, I have learned that God Himself will restore and strengthen me when I feel tired and anxious. This is a promise: Pain is temporary and God’s presence and faithfulness lasts forever. Therefore, we should learn to trust God with our problems.
One powerful example is found in Daniel 3, when Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were thrown into the fiery furnace for refusing to worship an idol. When King Nebuchadnezzar looked into the fire, he was astonished and said: “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? I see four men loose, walking in the midst if the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” Just as God was with his servants in the furnace, He walks with us through our own fears, loss uncertainty, and suffering.
Therefore, let us declare all our worry, fear and burden into God’s hands as the Scripture message is clear to us all: we are never alone. “Immanuel”!
© 2026 Resurrection: A United Methodist Church. All Rights Reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* Craig Keener, comment on 1 Peter 5:8 in NIV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible (p. 11472). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
** William Barclay, The Letters of James and Peter (Revised Edition). Westminster John Knox Press, 1976, p. 272.
