Leave It to God: 4 Ways to Cast Your Cares on Him
The wheat field bends low in waves of ragged green as an evening storm blows in. Like velvet brushed by an unseen hand, the monochrome swath is broken. “Leave it to God,” I whisper as I stroll down our country road. Meanwhile, the same ethereal hand seems to sweep my cares away with the wind.
I come to cast my cares on the Lord out here beneath these open skies as often as possible. Sometimes, I list my worries one by one. At other times, I imagine opening my heart and letting the One who sees every part of me wash away the concerns that are weighing too heavily.
I need this space daily.
Perhaps you need to cast your cares on God today, too.
Leave It to God: How to Cast Your Cares
Let’s walk through a few practical steps to help us “leave it to God” as we cast our worries on the him.
1. Cast your cares on God by naming your concern.
Begin by naming your concern. Be specific.
What is bothering you or weighing heavily on you?
Naming your worry, care, or burden will help you cast it onto God.
2. Leave it to God by digging deeper.
For years, I assumed my fears and worries were always sins. Instead of digging to find the roots, I rebuked my emotions. I told myself not to fear and rarely explored the hidden roots beneath my worries.
Fear and worry can lead us to sin. However, the instant you feel fearful or worried, God is offering an invitation. Your emotions are God-given, and he is inviting you to approach these emotions with compassion.
What’s beneath your fear, worry, or anxiety? Are you afraid of rejection, failing, being misunderstood, or inflicting pain on someone else? Are you afraid some worst-case scenario will ruin your life, and God will abandon you?
Ask God to show you what’s beneath your worry. He might reveal a deeper root he wants to pull out, a wound he wants to heal, or a lie you’ve been believing.
3. Heave your cares and concerns onto God.
I find it interesting that Scripture tells us to cast our cares onto the Lord. We’re not told to lift them gently. God knows our worries aren’t easy to get rid of. For this reason, he tells us to cast them away—like Olympic shotput throwers.
Imagine heaving your worry onto God. Imagine his strong arms reaching down to take the worry from you. He wants to help you live lighter.
I find the strength to heave my biggest worries onto God by asking myself a simple question. I ask, “Have I done my best to steward the assignment God placed before me?”
If I can answer yes—if I know I’ve done my best with what I’ve been given—I then remind myself of an important principle: God calls me to steward the assignments he sets before me and trust him with the outcomes.
God calls me to steward the assignments he sets before me and trust him with the outcomes. #trust #stewardship #control Share on XThe outcomes in my life are not mine to control. I want happy, healthy kids, harmonious friendships, lots of cushion in the bank account, and pleasant circumstances all around me. However, sometimes life just isn’t pleasant. Kids get sick. Friendships falter. Bank accounts run empty. Life gets hard. Nevertheless, if I can go to bed each night knowing I’ve done my very best to steward God’s daily assignments, then I can trust him with the outcomes—even when I don’t understand his ways.
4. Stand on God’s Word.
Lastly, after naming my worry, studying it, and heaving it onto God, I can plant my feet on solid ground by standing on God’s Word.
I memorize a fear-fighting Bible verse that speaks specifically to my circumstance, and I repeat it every time I feel fearful. God’s Word is a weapon, and we can use it to find victory over the voice of fear. (For a list of Bible verses about worry and fear, join me right here.)
The idea of “leaving it to God” is a biblical call to let go and trust God with the details of our lives.
Let’s look at a list of Bible verses that can help us “leave it to God.”
“Leave It to God” Bible Verses
1. 2 Corinthians 9:8
“And God is able to make all grace overflow to you, so that, always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed” (NASB).
We don’t always understand why God allows difficulties in our lives, but we can trust that he is always good.
When God permits difficulties and challenges, we can trust that he can also turn them around for good purposes.
Cling to this promise: God is able to give you all the grace you need. He is sufficient to provide for every need in your life. He will give you all you need to accomplish his will.
Ask him to help you let go of your desire for control and trust him.
2. Hebrews 13:5
“He Himself has said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever abandon you.’”
We can trust God because he promises never to leave us.
Are you walking into a troubling situation today? God goes with you into the difficult circumstances in your workplace.
He is with you when your life at home is challenging.
He goes with you to the hospital, the cemetery, and the school building where your child is struggling.
Your loving Father will never leave you.
You can let go of your desire to orchestrate the perfect circumstances, and you can let go of your fears. God is with you. He will help you through whatever you face.
Furthermore, nothing will reach you without passing through his protective wings first.
3. Romans 8:28
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
God can turn around any situation and use it for your good and his glory.
Joseph’s brothers sold him as a slave, and God used the evil act to later save Joseph’s entire family from starvation.
Paul was imprisoned, and his chains resulted in the salvation of the entire palace guard.
God hears our prayers and can use even the most horrific losses for good. You can let go because God can turn everything around for your good and his glory.
4. Romans 8:31
“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?”
God is always for you.
Do you need the reminder that you are not alone—that someone is standing in your corner and has your back?
At times, we all feel alone and overlooked. Meanwhile, God never takes his eye off of his children.
God loves you, and he is for you.
5. Malachi 3:6
“I, the Lord, do not change.”
God never changes.
In a world of constant change, we can find peace in the fact that God never changes. His character is always the same. He is always trustworthy, loving, and good.
No matter what happens in your life, find peace in the truth that God is with you, and he hasn’t changed.
6. 1 John 4:8
“The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
Everything God does is done in love.
God is the embodiment of love.
Perhaps the most powerful of these reasons to trust God is that God is always loving. His ways are not our ways, but he always acts in love.
7. Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the plans that I have for you, plans for prosperity and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
God spoke these words to his people when they were captives in the foreign land of Babylon.
These words are true for his children today as well.
God’s plans for you are good. Your future is full of goodness and hope. Trust that you will see God’s goodness in the future even if your current circumstances are difficult.
8. Proverbs 3:5-6
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
God wants to direct your paths.
He is inviting you to place your trust in him. When you do—relying on him instead of trying to make sense of your circumstances—he will direct your life. This is a promise you can count on. There is freedom in letting go and trusting God.
More Bible Verses to Help You Leave It to God
9. Isaiah 41:10
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.’
God is with you, and he will uphold you and give you strength.
You can endure this difficult time because you are not walking alone. Find comfort in the presence of God.
10. 1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.
In difficult times, it’s easy for fear to get a foothold.
We don’t need to fear because God’s love is in us.
Ask God to help you rest in his love as he pushes out all fear during this time.
11. Psalm 23:4
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
This verse reminds us that even in the darkest valleys, God is with us.
He comforts us and protects us. Nothing reaches us without passing through him first.
12. Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Rather than embracing anxious thoughts, God calls us to pray. When we do, his peace guards our hearts and minds.
Worrying creates the illusion of controlling life’s challenging situations; prayer actually makes an impact.
13. John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
Before he ascended into heaven, Jesus promised peace to his followers. When our hearts are troubled, we can cling to this promise of peace.
14. 1 Peter 5:7
Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
In difficult times, God calls us to cast our anxieties and fears on him. Too often, I ruminate over fears and worries. Imagine how different our lives would be if we learned to cast our cares on him immediately!
15. Matthew 6:34
Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Much of what we worry about never ends up happening. May we remember this as we aim to live present to our daily moments, not worrying about the future.
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If this post has helped you lay down a burden and leave it to God, I invite you to explore our library of family devotionals and free eBooks below. May you experience God’s peace as you surrender to him.
Calling All Parents and Grandparents!
As the parent of two sons and a daughter, I have a heart for helping parents develop deeper relationships with their children and with God. Our kids, ages 6, 11, and 15, share this vision. They have helped me write three family devotionals for parents or older relatives to read with the children and teens they love. You can find all three books here or read more below.
Attention All Boy Moms (and Dads)!
God’s Warrior: Devotions for Boys Who Want to Grow in Courage and Strength helps young boys, ages 5-13, learn what it means to trust God and become strong warriors for his kingdom. Now, more than ever, our world needs men who are willing to boldly carry God’s love into the world. I wrote this boys’ devotional book with our two young sons, Aiden and Caleb, ages six and eleven! You’ll enjoy their honesty as we teach boys how to be strong warriors for the Lord. Find this life-changing devotional book here.
Mother-Daughter Devotionals by a Mom and Daughter
Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith is written for girls ages 7-12. It includes 60 devotions with Scripture, conversation starters, and a shared journaling section for moms and daughters after each devotion. I wrote this book with the help of our daughter, Bekah, when she was eleven. Find this one-of-a-kind shared devotional here.
Heart to Heart: A Mother-Daughter Devotional With 50 Devotions for Teen Girls is for teenage girls ages 13-20. It includes 50 devotions, each with a shared journaling section to help moms and daughters connect through writing. This is a great book for moms who want to communicate about awkward topics—like dating, sexuality, peer pressure, and more—but don’t know where to start. Bekah and I will help you right here.
Find Our Family Devotionals Here
Find all three books right here. They are also free on the Kindle Unlimited plan, which you can enjoy with a free three-month trial! These books make great gifts, and you don’t need to be the parent of young children to read them. Share them with your grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or the young ones you love.
Learn Why Willpower Doesn’t Work and Experience God’s Deliverance and Healing
God wants to work in your life to accomplish what you’ve been unable to do through willpower alone. Lean Into Grace: Let God’s Grace Heal Your Heart, Refresh Your Soul, and Set You Free shares practical ways to experience God’s freedom, healing, power, and presence in your life. Find this life-changing book as a free eBook on Kindle Unlimited or for 12.99 in print right here. (If you do not have Kindle Unlimited, you can try it out with a free three-month trial!) This book will transform your life and revitalize your relationship with the Lord!
A Free Devotional to Help You Leave It to God
I have a gift for you today. Set Free: Let God Do What You Cannot is my new 10-day free online devotional. We will explore ten common areas in which most of us long for God to set us free. We’ll talk about finding freedom from bad habits, besetting sins, fear, worry, insecurity, and more. Get yours for free with promo code GRACE right here. I also offer a library of free online devotional eBooks for free. I invite you to explore the collection right here!
