Do you struggle with worry, stress or fear? You can go free and never worry another day in your life!
What am I going to do? Have you ever had that thought? A seeming crisis looms in your finances or your job, you received a bad report about your health, or an important relationship seems to be crumbling right before your eyes. The pressure mounts, and your problem-solving mode kicks in. All day and night, you contemplate the solution, wondering if there even is one. Concern moves to worry, and worry morphs into all-out fear. Before you know it, panic sets in, and you’re in total torment.
Believer in the Lord, this is not how you are meant to live! God’s plan has always been that you live in perfect peace and ultimately find deliverance from trials. That’s why God is vehemently against worry. It does not produce anything but stress, strain and death. Jesus preached against it; Paul preached against it. The whole Bible is against worry because satan designed it.
Consider these scriptures: “Do not be anxious about anything” (Philippians 4:6, NIV), “Don’t let your hearts be troubled” (John 14:1), “Don’t worry” (Matthew 6:31). And that’s just the beginning. Yet many of us still act as if it’s an option, as if we’re free to worry if we want to. But we’re not! Worrying is a sin. It’s one of those things the Word of God directly commands us to not do.
That’s why, at one point, Kenneth E. Hagin promised God he would never worry again, and he set out to keep his promise. Kenneth Copeland has made the same commitment. He refuses to let the sun go down on a single care. But one thing is sure—it is a challenge. Gloria Copeland says, “Casting your cares on God is an act of faith. It may not be easy at first, but it is necessary if you want to live in victory.”
Today can be the last day you ever have a care in this world. Does that sound appealing to you? Make a decision right now that you will do whatever it takes to cast your cares—every care—on the Lord and into His hands. Use these five practical ways to cast your cares on Jesus and make this the first day that you never carry a worry again.
1. Cast Your Cares by Stopping Worried Thoughts Before They Start
“We take captive every thought.” –2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)
The mind is where the battle between worry (fear) and peace (faith) takes place. Whatever you allow to captivate your mind will rule your life. So, if you want the Word of God to reign over your thoughts, you have to resist the devil when he tries to plant anything contrary to it in your mind.
That’s why, in order to cast your cares, you have to stop worried thoughts before they even start.
You know how it begins. You get a phone call, an email or something in the mail—and it’s not good news. Immediately, your mind begins racing. This is where the road divides, and you make a choice: Are you going to begin to worry, or will you stand firm in your faith and tell the devil to split? The only way to do the latter is to take that thought captive—immediately! That means to stop it in its tracks, and keep it from being free to roam in your mind.
When you first begin this practice, it may seem like you’re taking worried thoughts captive every two minutes. Gloria Copeland describes her experience when she first learned how to cast her cares on the Lord:
“An anxious thought would pop into my mind, and I would rebuke it. A few minutes later, I would find myself having another worried thought, and I would take it captive. I would say, ‘No, I refuse to take the care of that. Jesus, in accordance with Your Word, I roll the care of that over on You, because I know You care for me.’”
It may be tough at first, but the good news is, if you’ll be diligent to fight that battle against worry by keeping the Word in your heart and in your mouth, the time will come when that Word and the knowledge of God’s faithfulness is so big on the inside of you, you won’t have to fight it anymore.
Action Step:
Once you’ve taken a thought captive, when that worried thought tries to creep back in, immediately begin praying in the spirit. You’ll find it is impossible to worry when your spirit is in line with God’s.
2. Cast Your Cares by Replacing Worry With the Word
“Meditate on [the Word] day and night.” –Joshua 1:8
The next step to casting your cares on Jesus is to replace your worry with the Word. Many people want God to supernaturally remove their worry, but that is not the way to get the peace of God. Peace comes by acting on the Word that says to cast all of your worry and anxiety over on Him. You must replace those thoughts with the Word. Philippians 4:8 (KJV) says to think on whatever things are true, honest, just, pure, lovely and of good report. “If there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
You are the one who has to control your mind, but you are not without help! The Word says that the peace of God will garrison and mount guard over your heart and mind (Philippians 4:7, AMPC). The Greater One who dwells within you is able to help you as you are obedient to replace your worries with His Word.
Learn 4 Ways to Be Led by the Spirit of God here.
Every time a situation arises, be armed and ready with a response from God’s Word. God’s Word always has an answer to any situation or problem! The more time you spend meditating on His Word, the quicker you will be with your response to the devil, just as Jesus was when the devil tried to tempt Him. No matter what the devil said, Jesus fired back instantly with the truth of God’s Word.
That’s how you need to be, too.
Find A Confession of Faith to Overcome Fear here.
Action Step:
You can’t combat thoughts with thoughts. You combat thoughts with words. Test it yourself! Silently, begin counting from one to 10. Now, out loud say your name. What happened to your counting? It stopped. Your mind had to stop and see what your mouth had to say. When you have a worried thought, speak the Word out loud—it will work every time.
Watch Kenneth Copeland teach you how to cast your cares to receive healing.
3. Cast Your Cares by Getting Rid of False Humility
“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon him, for he cares for you. –1 Peter 5:6-7 (NKJV)
In 1 Peter 5:6-7, God tells us that it takes humility to cast our cares on Him. What is humility? Contrary to what some may think, true humility is not believing you are unworthy to receive God’s care. Instead, it’s humbling yourself under His mighty hand—the Word of God, and putting it first place (rather than what you think about a situation).
Thinking you have to solve your own problems is also false humility. Remember, when you carry the care, you work, and God rests. When He carries the care because you have cast it on Him, He works, and you rest.
When you humble yourself before God and cast your cares on Him, you are submitting to Him and acknowledging that He has more wisdom and power to handle your situation than you do. You have released yourself and your life to God, trusting Him and obeying His every command. Anything less is pride.
Also notice in 1 Peter 5:6-7, He doesn’t say to cast 75% of your care on Him or everything except worry for your kids. Furthermore, He did not say, “everything but your finances.” No, God clearly instructs us to cast every single worry out of our thinking, and roll them all over onto Him. When you do this, you are humbling yourself before Him, and you can expect Him to go to work on your behalf and exalt you in due time.
Here’s an illustration that will help you learn how to cast your cares on Jesus. Let’s say you were standing about 20 feet away from someone. If you tossed the keys to your automobile to that person, those keys still exist, but you don’t have them anymore.
That’s what we need to do with our cares. We must cast them over on the Lord and not take them back! If satan brings a worried thought to your mind, saying, “What if…,” then you can tell him to talk to God about it. It is in His hands, not yours!
Once you do that, changes will start to take place in your life. Problems you’ve been fretting about for years will start being solved. You’ll no longer be tying God’s hands by worrying. His power can begin to operate because you’ve acted in faith and cast your cares on Him!
Action Step:
Every morning when you wake up, make this confession of faith, “I’m a believer. I’m not a doubter. The Word works in me. Right now, I humble myself under the mighty hand of God. I cast all my cares over on Him. From this moment forward, I refuse to worry. Instead, I will pray. I will use my faith and believe, and He’ll exalt me over the problem and over the devil. For I belong to Jesus, and He cares for me!”
4. Cast Your Cares by Wearing All Your Armor
“Put on the whole armor of God.” –Ephesians 6:11 (NKJV)
By now, you probably know that fighting any battle without the whole armor of God is a bad idea. When you’re dealing with worry, it’s no different.
First Thessalonians 5:8 tells us who live in the light to be clearheaded, wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation.
Think about where the helmet of salvation sits—over your mind. The helmet protects your thoughts from the lies of the enemy. The helmet also covers your ears—which keeps you from hearing the enemy’s threatening lies.
If you have a tendency to be fearful and to worry, consider what you’re watching on television or listening to. What are you hearing? Programming that is negative (like most news channels) or those that stir up a spirit of fear are not going to feed your faith and protect your thoughts. Guard your heart by guarding your eyes and ears from ideas that will make you think gloom and doom all the time.
When Gloria Copeland has a fearful thought, she responds immediately by saying, “I don’t believe that.” She knows those thoughts are just the devil trying to sell her something, so he can have a door to get in. She doesn’t even give him a chance.
The same is true when you go to bed. Don’t go to bed with a care on your heart! It’s giving the devil an opportunity. Instead, say, “You are not putting that on me, satan, in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.” You may have to do that night after night for a while, but the thoughts will eventually go away. Keep that armor on.
Action Step:
Study Ephesians 6, and see how you can use each piece of the armor of God every day to cast your cares on Jesus. Find scriptures (the sword of the Spirit) that cover your situation, write them down, put them on the refrigerator, and read them out loud every day. The Word of God is a weapon that will drive that fear out! Have a game plan in advance.
5. Cast Your Cares by Finding a Faith Buddy
“Encourage one another and build one another up.” –1 Thessalonians 5:11 (ESV)
If you really want to cast your cares and take a stand against worry, find a faith buddy—someone who will hold you accountable for your words, thoughts and actions. We all need at least one person like that in our lives—someone who lives and walks by faith and can call us to a higher level. Now, don’t get mad when you get corrected—correction is love, helping you grow.
Why do we need help in this fight of faith? Gloria Copeland says, “There’s a big difference between Boy Scouts and boot camp. You train how you fight, and you fight how you train.” So, find a faith buddy to train with, and you’ll fight the good fight with power.
Action Step:
Spend time praying and asking the Lord to reveal who would be a good faith buddy for you. Prepare to offer encouragement and accountability in return.
Watch Kenneth Copeland teach you how to become a care-free Christian.
If you will practice these five practical steps to cast your cares on Jesus, today will be the last day you will ever have a worried thought. Life is full of opportunities to worry, but you don’t have to take them. Now you have an action plan to stop worry before it starts. When you obey God’s Word to cast your cares on Jesus, you will begin to live in the divine peace that only Jesus can give you. This is part of the abundant life, and it belongs to you!
Related Articles:
A Confession of Faith to Overcome Fear
A Prayer to Live in Total Peace
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