Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you (1 Pet 5:7).

“Anxiety” works against joy as God tries to bless you through your faith. Without joy, it would be difficult to believe that you have received what you prayed, and if you do not believe, you would not receive what you prayed. The above words are found in the first letter by Peter. The letter is addressed to the churches in various regions where Peter may have preached the gospel. It was written at the time when the conflict with the world, persecutions, increased: Peter wanted to encourage the believers to stand firm upon their faith with humility and submission against the immediate future that seemed uncertain and dark. This particular verse is the quotation from Psalm 55:

Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall (Ps 55:22).

“Your cares” are the portions that you are holding on to as yours—your own worries. To “cast your cares on the Lord” means to throw away your portions of worries upon him. And the promise is that “he will sustain you,”—“he will provide you,” or “he will feed you.” That means, if you are holding your needs and problems as yours in your hand, or carrying them as your burden on your shoulder, it is difficult for the Lord to take care of you by feeding and sustaining you.

We have an interesting story that illustrates this point in Genesis—the story of Jacob who wrestled with God at the ford of Jabbok. He was born as the younger of twin brothers, but obtained the firstborn right by deceiving his brother Esau and his father Isaac. Esau became so angry that Jacob left his home and lived with his uncle in a far country for many years. He always wanted to return to his land, but there was one big problem: he thought his brother was still very angry. When he finally was on the way back to the land, he heard that his brother was coming to see him with his four hundred men. He was so afraid, and spent a night at the ford of Jabbok. Then, a man appeared to him, and wrestled with him till daybreak.

When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak." But Jacob replied, "I will not let you go unless you bless me (Gen 32:25-26)."

Jacob wanted this man to bless him, and the man also wanted to bless him. Why did they wrestle with each other? It makes no sense!

Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome (v. 28)."

“Israel” means “God fights,” and God is the one who gives them victory over their enemies. But here, ironically, Jacob fought against God and men, and the name “Israel” was given because of that. In fact, we know from the history that the people of Israel fought against God, even though they wanted him to bless them. This is what we do when we have worries and try to live with our own power: God wants to bless us, but we do not let him do that. We also have the following words in Psalm:

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this (Ps 37:5).

Here, “to commit” in the original language means “to roll a stone.” As you walk on your way, you will need to walk on many rocks and stones, but God wants you to kick them and roll them upon him. He says, “Let me do it.”