In this comforting and practical sermon, we explore 1 Peter 5:5–11 with a focus on verses 6 and 7. If you struggle with late-night worries, overwhelming fears, or future anxieties, Peter’s exhortation offers a life-changing biblical framework: humble yourself under God’s mighty hand and actively cast your burdens onto Him.
About six or seven months ago, I found myself wide awake in the middle of the night — mind racing, trying to solve a situation that wasn't even a reality yet. The more my mind processed, the more it stirred my emotions, until I was overwhelmed, anxious, and fearful.
I have to admit this happens many times over my lifetime — worry and fear, often to an unhealthy point, leading me to listen more to my inner self than to the truths of God's Word.
Each of us carries weights — from work and marriage to parenting, caring for parents, past failures, present realities, and future anxieties. These concerns consume our thoughts, our emotions, and our energy.
The question Peter answers for us is simple: What are we to do with all of these weights?
"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all of your anxieties upon him because he cares for you."
— 1 Peter 5:6–7
Peter writes to believers scattered abroad, reminding them of their identity in Christ: "You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession" (1 Peter 2:9). Our passage addresses a biblical ethic for dealing with worry, fear, and anxiety — seven heart postures that propel us to rest in God rather than retreat into ourselves.
Peter's first command is clear: humble yourselves. Humility does not come naturally — pride, arrogance, and self-sufficiency are what come naturally to our broken selves. Peter calls believers to actively cause themselves to be humble, to clothe themselves in it.
Why? Because "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (v. 5). If we want to experience God's grace, it comes through humility rather than self-sufficiency.
When we're overwhelmed, we often say "I've got this" — and we leave God on the outside. We talk to ourselves, listen to ourselves, and spiral downward. Our problems are most often within us, while our help is outside of us — in the truths of God's Word and in relationship with God himself.
"I've got this" — leaving God out entirely
Talking to ourselves, emotions take over
"I don't have what it takes — God does"
We are to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God — this is big-God theology. God is the Almighty Sovereign One who exercises his authority over everything, including our situations, concerns, worries, and fears.
Jesus calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee instantly — wind and waves obeyed him.
Jesus cast out a legion of demons from a man no chains could bind.
A woman healed after 12 years of suffering — by faith, touching his garment.
Jesus raised Jairus's daughter from the dead — all within a single day.
Peter witnessed all of this — nature, the demonic, disease, and death — in roughly 10–12 hours. He speaks from experience when he says: humble yourself under the mighty hand of God.
The purpose of humbling ourselves is found in verse 6: "so that at the proper time he may exalt you." And verse 10 expands this promise beautifully:
"The God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you."
Return us to a condition where we function well — out of the grip of worry and fear
Give us an inwardly firm and committed heart, strengthening our inner person
Make us more capable — giving us his strength to walk through our burdens
Give us a firm foundation so we speak truth rather than listen to self-talk
The Greek word used in verse 7 means literally to throw or to cast — and it is an adverbial participle of means. It tells us how to humble ourselves: by casting.
One lexicon defines it as: "to cause the responsibility of something to be upon someone else." It is the transferring of your concerns — your worries, fears, and anxieties — onto him.
In Matthew 14, Peter stepped out of the boat and walked on water toward Jesus — until he took his eyes off Jesus and placed them back on himself. That's when he began to sink.
Peter understood: it's about trust. "Lord, I'm going to cast these anxieties on you. I don't understand, but I'm going to trust you with them."
The reason Peter gives for casting our anxieties is the most personal: "because he cares for you." Peter knew this intimately. After denying Jesus three times — the rooster crowing, Jesus's gaze upon him — Peter experienced the full weight of his failure.
And yet in John 21, Jesus restores him. Three denials. Three statements of restoration: "Peter, do you love me? … Feed my sheep." Peter passionately communicates God's care to us because he lived it himself.
"Anxiety is simply living out the future before it gets here. Faith is trusting that when the future comes, our Father will be there to give us what we need."
— Dr. Kevin DeYoung
The Apostle Peter gives us a complete framework: the exhortation is to humble ourselves; the sphere is under the mighty hand of God; the purpose is that he may exalt us at the proper time; the means is by casting all our anxieties upon him; and the reason is because he cares for us.
"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us — to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen."
— Ephesians 3:20–21
I don't know the burdens you've carried in today — what keeps you awake at night, what stirs your mind and emotions. But I do know this: if we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, he will exalt us at the proper time. We do that by casting our cares upon him. When I have sleepless nights, I pray 1 Peter 5:6–7 — and before I know it, God gives great rest.
Cast Your Cares Upon Jesus