Let me know once it’s done.

These don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Yes, there are times we quote a theory and realize we lack practical experience. I once interviewed a former Miss America who had earned a PhD in psychology. She wrote a book on childhood education and behavior. Yet when her own child started acting up, she confessed to me that all the theory went out the window. The concepts had not been tested by real life.

Sometimes we view God’s Word as a nice theory but wonder whether it is practical in our day. Take, for example, what we call the Golden Rule. Matthew 7:12 instructs us to “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you” (NLT). But then we get cut off in traffic or have to confront someone at work, and it seems that theory is lost.

I was reading through 1 Peter recently and came across one of my favorite verses. Peter, writing to believers dispersed throughout Asia Minor, addressed the trials and suffering they were no doubt facing. He told them with great confidence that they could take these burdens to the Lord:

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

1 Peter 5:7 NLT

Is that just a theory Peter is repeating, or is it grounded in personal experience?

Those words take on more power when we jump back in Peter’s story to his time with Jesus. This disciple often spoke boldly without thinking. At one point, after Peter made a quick comment, Jesus responded with some of the strongest words ever spoken to a disciple:

Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”

Matthew 16:23 NLT

Again and again, Peter blurted out things without thinking or from a worldly point of view. This culminated when the disciple told the Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Even if everyone deserts you, I will stand with you.” But within hours, Peter denied he even knew Jesus. Not just once. Three times. What a failure.

We know that after the resurrection, Jesus went out of his way to restore Peter to the Lord’s service. “Feed my sheep.”

When Peter writes that we can cast all our cares on Jesus because He truly cares for us, he writes from the context of his own personal experience. No doubt, Peter relived his failure in the courtyard and Jesus’ loving, gentle restoration on the seashore. And Peter could say from his personal life that we can cast our burdens, our shortcomings, and failures on our Savior, with the assurance that our loving Lord cares.

Why is that important to you as you lead, in ministry and in life?

First, we will all face days of failure in our spiritual journey. Jesus cares. He will restore us.

Second, out of our experience with the Lord, yes, out of our failures and God’s grace, we can encourage others in their times of struggle. Paul instructs us to use what the Lord has done in our lives as living examples of God’s love:

He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.

2 Corinthians 1:4 NLT

As you lead others, you can turn the theoretical into the very practical by remembering God’s grace in your own life. The Lord cares for us.

God’s best,