Clothing of Care, Garments of Praise
Part 2 Casting My Care 1 Peter 5:7

Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

It’s All in the Cast

Casting comes from the Greek word epiripto, Literally the word comes from the action of a man casting his garments upon a colt.

It is only used here and in Luke 19:35  And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon.

The idea is that he takes the garment he has been bearing, he removes it from his own person, quits wearing it, quits carrying it and then casts that clothing of care, that shirt of stress, that wardrobe of worry, that rag of rigor, that dress of distress, that attire of anxiety, over to another who would now carry it in his place. (I don’t mind telling you I got a little stressed out string together that sentence.)

 In the Greek New Testament this word is in the past tense. i.e., "Having cast." Peter is telling those early Christians who were under such persecution and he is telling us who live in a world that is defined by stress, that our worries and concerns have already been given over completely to God. We just need to remember that truth.

All in this case means every kind and every variety. I was looking for more insight into this verse and one of my sources put it this way, The Amplified Bible put it this way,  "Casting the whole of your care-all your anxieties, all your  worries, all your concerns, once and for all-upon him.”

Matthew 6:25-30 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
The Clothing Exchange

We must strip off the clothing of care and begin to wear garments of praise.

When Jesus preached in Nazareth, he quoted a passage from Isaiah 61:3 as His mission from His Father.  "To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty, for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified."

When we accepted Jesus as our Saviour, He gave to us garments of praise to replace our clothing of care.  That is why we as children of God, followers of Jesus Christ, should not be dominated by worry. Why would we choose to put back on those sad rags?

How then do we stop wearing the clothing of care?

First, by doing what Peter told the young men to do in vs. 5. You have to make an exchange, our worry wardrobe for a suit of submission. We must be clothed in humility. Read 1 Peter 5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

Humility means submission to God, it means I’m trusting Him with the issues of my life, because He has promised to never leave me, promised to comfort me, promised to meet my needs. When I clothe myself in humility, I am submitting myself to the One who can care for me.

Paul said this to Timothy in the last letter he wrote before God took him home, 2 Timothy 1:12  For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

Worry is an indication that we think God cannot look after us. Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)

Humility also means putting others before myself, putting their needs before mine. Worrying means I’m doing just the opposite, it puts me and everything about me first. But when you cloth yourself with humility, you will be so surprised how little you will worry about yourself when you have others on your heart. Suddenly, what is or isn’t about to happen to me isn’t as important as the concerns of those around me.

Wearing the clothing of humility is an acknowledgment, a confession that I have very little power to affect anything around me so I cast that worry on the One who can do something about all things.

You must also make sure that you consciously cast every care upon Him.

When you find yourself in wrapped up in worry, attired in anxiety and dressed in distress, stop and go to God. Pray, and in that prayer name the worry, the problem, the fear, the doubt and then remove it from your heart and tell the Lord that are leaving it with Him. Cast it off whenever that worry crops back up. every time you find you’ve picked it back up, then go back to God in prayer and cast those sad rags away.  

Peter may have been inspired by Psalms 55:22 Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

Philippians 4:6 Be careful for nothing (don’t be full of care about anything); but in every thing by prayer and  supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

Trade your sad rags for glad rags, exchange your clothing of care for God’s garments of praise. - Pastor Kris Minefee