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.
Reflection
Anxiety? We all have a lot to worry about! Whether it’s health, money, disasters or relationships, everyone has worries. Anxiety keeps us up at night, our social media feeds and those “breaking news” alerts keep us in a constant state of worry during the day. It seems the more we worry, the more we seek to control our lives. But control is an illusion and worry distracts us from relying on God. The only way to fight anxiety is by faith and trust in God.
This letter was written by the Apostle Peter, one of Jesus’ disciples. Peter’s letter was circulated among the many Gentile church communities in the Roman province of Asia Minor, modern day Turkey. These believers were suffering persecution by their Roman and Greek neighbors, who reported them to the authorities for not conforming to pagan rituals and refusing to worship the Emperor Nero as a god, all because they followed Jesus’ teachings. They were constantly harassed and they suffered persecution for their beliefs. Peter wrote to encourage
these anxious believers to bear witness to the love of God and to humble themselves as Jesus humbled himself, to stay faithful to Jesus, and to trust in God who loves and cares for them.
All around the world followers of Jesus today, as in Peter’s day, also find themselves at odds with their neighbor’s and their government’s beliefs, because we follow the teachings of Jesus. God’s Kin- dom of compassion and justice is a complete reversal of what the world deems as acceptable-the exploitation of the poor and the powerless. Peter urges us to be humble in the face of suffering for following Jesus. But how can we be humble? Humility requires us to surrender our control, to let go and put our trust in God. Our attempts to take control of others and their outcomes creates a lot of anxiety in our lives. When we realize that we’re in
control of very little in life, we realize that only God can bring us healing and hope. By
throwing all our anxieties on God in prayer, we let go of our prideful ego and we humble
ourselves, surrendering our will to God. We can entrust our worries to God knowing that
we can trust God’s promises to care for us.
by Jeneene Reduker
For Pondering and Prayer
Are you anxious and struggling for control? It’s time to surrender and throw all your anxieties on God in prayer and trust in God who loves and cares for you.
Prayer: Loving God, we are anxious and filled with worry as we try to control the world around us. Forgive us. Help us to follow the example of Jesus. We surrender our control and throw all our anxieties on you, trusting in your will for us and in your loving care for us. Amen.
