This post was last updated on October 7, 2026
Day 109 (Year 3)
Casting Your Anxieties on God
“Casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:7-8 NASB)
The word “anxiety” in the first scripture comes from the Greek word merimna, which also means “worries.” Its root comes from another word, merizo, meaning “to divide, separate, cause division, distract, or distribute” (1 Corinthians 1:13, etc.). Unexplained worry is anxiety and often arises from uncertainty. When an event causes anxiety, it is often due to fear that things will worsen or turn out contrary to our wishes, creating a conflict between worrying and wanting not to worry, which distracts our minds. Anxiety scatters a person’s focus, making it difficult to concentrate on solving problems. If we do not hand over our worries to God, it easily weakens our single-minded trust in Him.
The word “sober” comes from the Greek nepho, which also means “to be calm and collected in spirit, to be temperate, dispassionate, circumspect, or to abstain from wine.” The opposite of anxiety is inner quietness and focus. For us, this means continually focusing on God and what He directs. Anxiety inevitably stirs up inner turmoil, making it difficult to be still. Moreover, chronic anxiety makes it hard for us to maintain a gentle temper or disposition. Thus, we can try any biblical methods that help in relieving anxiety. For example, some must first learn to relax and quiet their hearts before they can pray. In prayer, we can bring each matter and reason causing anxiety to God, allowing Him to untangle them one by one.
The words “be on the alert” come from the Greek word gregoreo, meaning “give strict attention to, be cautious, or to take heed lest through remission and indolence some destructive calamity.” We need to cultivate spiritual alertness and maintain good communication with God so He can warn us against falling into the devil’s traps. In fact, only relying on humanity makes it impossible to defeat the devil. Thus, we always need to seek God’s help, learning to relax in the midst of battle and rest in Him, while being sensitive to and guarding against the devil’s attacks and temptations, counterattacking according to His leading. We always need to ask God to open our eyes and ears in our hearts so that we can be alert to demonic activity around us or in others, pray promptly to God, and follow His instruction to counter and defeat the devil.
Reflection questions:
1) Do you feel you usually handle worry and anxiety well? If not, how will you rely on God to do better?
2) Between being sober-minded and being watchful, which one is harder for you? And how will you rely on God to improve in it?