God is love, and he made you to love you. He is loving toward you in everything that he does; his compassion is one of his most outstanding qualities.

The Bible says in Psalm 103:13, “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him” (NIV). He cares about everything in your life—compassionately.

Most of Jesus’s disciples were professional fishermen. One day while fishing, Jesus got tired and went to sleep inside the boat. When a storm came, it shouldn’t have bothered the disciples. As fishermen, they were used to storms. But this must have been a big one, because they got scared. The ship was rocking and rolling; water was coming into the boat. They were frantic and woke up Jesus to ask him one of the most important questions in life: “Lord, don’t you care?”

You and I ask God that question all the time and in a thousand ways: “God, did you see that doctor’s report? Don’t you care? Do you see what a mess my marriage is in? Don’t you care? Do you see how my kids are struggling in school? Don’t you care? You know how fear grips my mind. Don’t you care?”

The answer is this: Yes, God cares. In fact, he cares more than you know. He wants to help more than you want help. He knows what will help you more than you know what will help you. He is aware, and he cares.

The Bible says, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7 NIV).

If you knew and felt how much your heavenly Father constantly and compassionately cares, you couldn’t help but love him back.

Take the first step toward inner peace today, and “cast all your anxiety” on your compassionate heavenly Father.