Devotions—I Peter
I Peter 5:1-11 (6-11)
So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: 2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight,[a] not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you] not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. 5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Having as many grandchildren as I do, I often hear the words, “Show you…” or, “Papi, come see this…” Although most of the children are quite verbal there is something to ‘seeing’ as opposed to only hearing. As I mentioned yesterday, Peter doesn’t define humility but he does give us a number of ways humility is expressed.
The first thing to notice is the quote from Proverbs 3:34, (God mocks the proud mockers). There is a characteristic in the heart and life of men that God set’s himself contrary to; that when men act this way, God sets Himself against them…that should get our attention! When we live in pride and arrogance, thinking we know better then be sure of this: God is not on our side in that moment…He does not take up our part.[1]
Therefore, because God opposes the proud and shows favor to the humble, what are we to do? First, humble yourself under God’s might hand, so that HE may lift you up. When we are acting or reacting in pride, we are exalting ourselves, we are trying to lift up self. This of course was what was happening in Genesis 11 at the tower of Babel. God did not judge Babel for their ingenuity or creativity, but for their arrogance. They wanted to make a name for themselves. They wanted to lift themselves up. Peter says, empty yourself, set your life on the imitation of Jesus who did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life away (2:21) and let the Lord lift you up, let your praise come, not from your own lips, (Proverbs 27:2) but from God’s. But, and this is important, don’t look to or for your exaltation, your kind Father will do it, at the proper time, that is, when He deems you are ready; it might be in this life, and it might not be until the next one…I trust we are ok with leaving that in God’s hands!
Second, a heart of humility is demonstrated when we are found, “…casting all your anxieties on him because He cares for you.” Don’t hurry by this too quickly. We are anxious people, even fearful people. Our worries overwhelm us at times and even change our demeanor and our disposition toward other people. Paul tells us to be “anxious for nothing” (Phi. 4:6). Really? I could have swallowed that much easier if it said, “only be a little anxious”. But do not be anxious about anything? Interestingly, Peter and Paul say the same thing with regard to the extinguishing of our anxiety:
Peter: Instead of living out of your anxiety, cast all of them on the Lord, and he gives us the reason, because He cares for you!
Paul: Do not be anxious about anything, instead, in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And Paul gives us the reason: And the peace of God which passes understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Humility says, I don’t know, but God does and what I do know is that my Father, loves me, cares for me, and orchestrates all things for my good, to bring me to His heavenly Kingdom…I trust that, I trust Him and when I say that, they are not just words…and because my heart and my mind need to rest in peace and be guarded against all the anxieties of the world, the flesh and the devil, I will take everything that threatens and lay them at the feet of Jesus.
Humility also listens…listens and takes action. Peter writes, (still from the “therefore”), we are to be sober-minded and watchful. We are to be alert in the context, in light of the coming return of Jesus who will reward the faithful and punish those unprepared for His final visitation. Also, we must be alert to the attacks upon our faith and godliness that arise either from our own sinful desires or from the world or even from the devil and his schemes. The devil “prowling around” reminds us of Job 1:7 where we read that Satan, the Accuser of the brethren, by his own admission, had been “roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.” What was and is he doing on his trips throughout the earth? Well, he is looking for someone to devour, looking for some way to harm and destroy what and who God loves.
The warning here is to take seriously the consequences of being spiritually drowsy and lethargic, unaware of what is really going on around us and within us. Humility will stand guard diligently realizing that only in the strength of Another are we to conquer and be found worthy. We can resist him, we can stand firm in our faith, that is to stand on the promises of our God, living them joyfully and boldly regardless of what is thrown at us!
Peter repeats himself so that we don’t misunderstand: He is not saying that there will be no trouble for our faithfulness or that there will be no suffering, pain and sorrow (4:12), to the contrary, that is life in a fallen world. However, once again our humility reaches out and lives the promise that our God will, because of Christ’s victory, restore, confirm, strengthen and establish us, and we shall not be moved.
But here is the catch; the full restoration, confirmation, strengthening and establishment that we look forward to and believe, will not come in this life. No, we see now as through a glass darkly, (I Cor. 13:12), we taste and see that the Lord is good, (Psalm 34:8), and we anticipate and even enjoy all the times heaven breaks through into our world to help us to keep our eyes fixed upon Him.
Prayer: Father, please forgive me for my pride, for the way I indulge my anxieties and for my sometimes lethargic approach to living in the light of the Lord Jesus. My sins rise up to condemn me, but I praise you for the Savior’s work on behalf of sinners and that because your grace has married us to Your Son, forgiveness and mercy are the banner under which I live. Give me strength to embrace your promises and to live in light of what will be made known in the fullness of time, through Jesus Christ my Lord, Amen.
Hymn: Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us