Monday-Throwing in the Towel
- Chet Gladkowski
- May 12
- 4 min read
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7
If you’ve got a pulse, then you’re in the same club that I’m in. There have been times when we’ve wanted to throw in the towel. To give up. To quit. To say that you’ve had enough, and you just want it to stop. You’ve come to the end of the line and you’re going to stop trying.
This is the birthplace of anxiety. Anxiety is so much more than that burning feeling deep down in the pit of our stomach. Or acid reflux coming up out of our stomach. It’s not the drip, drip, drip of excess stomach acid in TV commercials[1] either. Instead, think about anxiety like this.
As you live each and every day, we’re going to see and experience the brokenness of this life. Things wear out and break. So do our bodies. People disappoint and hurt us. And then there’s those things that just come out of nowhere and throw our lives into a great big mess. Does any of this sound at all familiar?
Just the fact that all these things and more happen to us doesn’t create anxiety. Anxiety comes when we see all the broken pieces in life and then take the responsibility to put them all together.
Did you see the difference? Anxiety is our response to life and not what happens in life. It’s a huge difference in the way we react. Yes, bad and painful stuff is heading our way. It might already be sitting right next to you. But anxiety only comes from the way we answer it with our words, thoughts, actions, and attitudes.
Anxiety comes only when we depend on ourselves. Period. When we take the responsibility to not only handle it, but to fix whatever’s the cause. There’s nothing humble about anxiety. It’s the total opposite of trusting God
Peter doesn’t try to hide the fact that there’s anxiety. Not at all. He freely admits it. He doesn’t say that pain and suffering are an illusion. Something for us to ignore or to work through ourselves. We’re not to hide the frustration and pain either. Instead, Peter gives a much more practical answer that doesn’t depend on our powers or skills.
Instead of trying to handle anxiety, we’re to cast it onto God. The only way to fix our anxiety is through a once-and-for-all commitment of our anxiety to God. Peter is encouraging us to come to that place where we’re so sick and tired of anxiety that we throw it to God and ask him to take care of us.
Think about the last time you made a deposit into one of your accounts. It doesn’t matter whether it was a bank, credit card, investment, or something else. They all work the same way. You take the money and let go of it. There’s no such thing as a deposit where there’s a string that you so someone else can take control of it. Casting our anxiety onto God takes the same steps.
Identify. We have to figure out what we’re going to give up control over.
Package. We have to put it all together, separate it from everything else.
Give. We have to hand it over, letting go of it without any strings.
We won’t do these things without a certain amount of trust. We’re not going to give up control of our hard-earned money to someone we don’t know or trust. Just talk to someone who’s been scammed. They trusted someone enough to give over their money and information to.
And why should we agree with this really strange thing of transferring all our trust into the hands of God? Think about it this way. When we trust another person, at least we can see them. But we can’t see God Why give up control and let go of running our own lives to someone we can’t even see? Why relax that tight grip we have on everything that happens? Peter’s answer is simple, yet so powerful.
Because he cares for us. God has this permanent place in his heart for you and me. The same God who made the universe and everything in it has this part of him that wants nothing more than to take care of us. His love for us is so great and powerful that he wants nothing but the absolute best for us.
It’s one thing to think there is a God. That they’re out there. Somewhere. Most people believe there is a God[2]. But what kind of God do they believe in? Is he a force somewhere out there? Is he knowable? Does he want to know us? How far is God willing to go to demonstrate his love for us? Is he personal? Does he love us and want nothing but the best for us? Is he willing to sacrifice himself for us?
And that’s the question. Are you willing to throw in the towel and give yourself fully over to a faceless force? Something or someone who you really can’t know? I doubt it. But what about throwing in the towel for a God who loves us enough to give himself fully for us? To die in our place? Now that’s someone we can know and be known by. To be loved by a compassionate and understanding God who came to earth. He experienced everything we do, but without sin. He’s the one I want to throw my towel in for.
Noodling Questions
How easy/hard is it to give yourself to someone? Explain.
Why is it so hard for us to trust others? Trust God?
How is Jesus so wildly different from all other religions and leaders?
[2] According to 2022 Gallup poll, 81% of Americans say they believe in God,
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