Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully. I Peter 5:7 (Amplified Bible Classic Edition, AMPC)

The word casting in the original Greek carries the meaning of heaving something or rolling something over onto an ox or other beast of burden. It tells us to hurl those cares onto the back of Jesus. The Lord doesn’t want us to carry them because He’s already taken care of them for us. His shoulders are broad enough to bear the weight.

It can be difficult for people to understand how we can do this. It is such a temptation to keep thinking about the thing that has been giving us concern, even after we have decided to cast it on the Lord. The tendency has been to give it to Him, but then take it back into our thoughts after we have supposedly given it to God. How can we cast it on Him and leave it there?

One key method of casting our cares and keeping them away from our thoughts is through praising God. Praising the Lord forces us to focus our thoughts on Him rather than on problems, challenges, and obstacles the enemy is trying to bring back to our minds. Praise is a tool that drives the enemy back and directs our thoughts to the One who has the answer to every problem.

Out of the mouths of babes and unweaned infants You have established strength because of Your foes, that You might silence the enemy and the avenger. Psalm 8:2 (Amplified Bible Classic Edition, AMPC)

Rather than allowing the concern over a problem or a perceived problem to get back into our thought life, we can choose to praise God for taking care of it. When the devil tries to remind us of the challenge we are facing, we can rebuke him in the name of Jesus and tell him that God has it covered. Then, we give praise and thanksgiving to the Lord for handling it for us. Praise has the ability to silence satan.

If we get into the habit of praising God every time the enemy tries to bring a worry or concern to our minds, the devil will eventually stop trying to make us worry- because he can’t stand the praise that he knows will be released! Don’t worry or fret, but instead, praise!