Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (1Pe 5:7 NIV)

Here the apostle does not write about our basic anxiety for daily bread. He is focusing rather on the anxiety of his congregants and fellow-Christians, who were anxious about the hatred from this world and the enormous challenge to remain steadfast in daily and severe persecutions and to keep the faith and trust in their Lord Jesus Christ even as the heat and pressure of discrimination and harassment were turned up quite excessively. Then the Christians were concerned and anxious about remaining faithful and trusting in their good Lord. Even normal sufferings in this life, which we Christians share will all people and entire humanity have got the tendency to keep people suffering from experiencing joy and happiness. That’s the affliction and temptation of hardships – that it keeps you from smiling and being content. Yet the specific Christian suffering under the hatred of this world and the power of evil is even worse and a stronger affliction. It’s hard to bear that faithful Christians should suffer this way. We can’t really come to grips with that suffering of the righteous and innocent people elected by God to his one, holy Christian Church. Under such terrible and even outrageous circumstances and experiencing such a fate, we are tempted and even naturally inclined to give in to these anxieties, we brood looking inwardly at ourselves, sighing and crying even, as we sway under the load of hardships in danger of losing hope and despairing. The blessed hand of our God and Lord should not pressure us in this way – we think. If it’s pressing hard down on us – we think that it can’t be blessing. Yet, we are to bear our cross patiently and commit all anxiety to the Lord. We people often don’t have enough to carry by bearing God’s cross. That is why we look for even more burdens and increase them considerably by our own anxieties and dark thoughts – even though God has assured us, that he is caring for us. This vain anxiety which really is quite godless and very unproductive too, we should cast away and leave it to him.

Lord, our God and savior. Take all fear from our hearts and grant us your love divine, which drives out all fear. What should we fear? Our suffering is yours. Our hardship leads us towards you. Our sins you have forgiven. Our dying you have transfigured into everlasting life. If it storm and tempest outside, you still are our mighty fortress, our rock and redeemer. We don’t want to be afraid – even as the world is passing and the last judgment comes. Free us from all lack of faith. Even if we have all reason to despair of ourselves, let us never despair of your help and goodness even as you care and control all in your mighty hands and with your living Word. Lord, you know our hearts. You know our anxieties and fears in the unrest of our time and age. Come and pacify our hearts, fill our spirit with your power and peace. Amen.  (Adolf Stöcker)

Be content and still in the Lord of your life. In him you find rest and joy’s fill, yet without him you struggle in vain. He is your life’s font and true sun, shining most brightly for your revival and bliss. So be content in him! (Paul Gerhard, 1607-1676)

This is a rather free translation of Wilhelm Löhe’s devotion for Tuesday after the third Sunday after the high holiday and festival of the Holy Trinity. It is found on Pg. 237 in Lob sei Dir ewig, o Jesu!   (Eternal Praise to you o Jesus!) edited by A. Schuster and published in the Freimund Verlag, Neuendettelsau 1949.