In the middle of these passages about fiery ordeals, insults and roaring lions on the prowl is the passage that makes standing firm possible. “Cast all your anxieties on God who cares for you.” The ability to “cast” depends on our trusting that God cares for us despite all that tends to increase anxiety. For Peter’s people it was organized persecution intent on stamping out the followers of the crucified and now reportedly resurrected Jewish rebel. For us it turns out to be a tiny virus that none-the-less can roar like a lion and stamp out the most vulnerable. But even for those of us who are relatively safe the enforced isolation leads to relationships gone sour or at the least strained, jobs lost and/or threatened, more bills than income at the end of the month, and fears without and within. To lay the blame of our anxiety on the lack of faith merely adds to the anxious list which is why Peter reminds his people that “the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” To humble oneself is to admit you can't go it alone which is why we’re in this thing together. Anxiety is diminished when it is shared as God intended it to be. Casting cares on Christ is a a communal exercise even when it is done online.
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