Favor in Humbleness

“Therefore, be humbled under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your anxiety onto Him, for He cares for you.” (1Peter 5:6-7)

Cast (literally throw) all, any and every care on Him. In this section of his letter Peter is writing to the “elders” or leaders of the early church. He exhorts them to diligently look after those whom they have charge of as a shepherd would take charge over sheep, willingly by being examples and a pattern for those under them to follow. Then he writes to the believers under these leaders urging them to humble themselves and to obey the leaders, encouraging them to be humble and submit to each other.

At first read, submitting to each other is so foreign to us. Does this mean I have to obey everyone? We must remember that the manner of speaking in ancient times was so different from today. And it especially looks foreign to us with the contaminant of the prevailing world outlook of individuality and “me first” culture of today. Rather let’s look at it as not lifting oneself up over another. For who are we? We are all just sinners, who were alienated from God and His grace and are now washed in the Precious and Holy Blood of the Lamb and subject to Him in all things. Paul also gives this exhortation to the Ephesians when he writes about walking in love. “Submitting yourselves to one another in the fear of God.” (Ephesians 5:21) To be honest, not one of us is an expert in all things. Some may be more organized, some more analytical, others see the whole while still others see the details. We need each other’s’ views and perspectives. So we should listen to each other and take everything into consideration but not command that everyone to see it our way. Paul writes to the Philippians the loving way to treating each other. “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than themselves.” (Philippians 2:3)

What does humbling ourselves and valuing others more than ourselves have to do with casting all of our cares to the Lord? The answer is found in the previous verse from our study. “Likewise, younger ones, be subject to older ones, and all being subject to one another. Put on humility. For God resists proud ones, but He gives grace to the humble.” (1Peter 5:5) There are two ways that it pertains to us esteeming others over ourselves. First, God resists the proud ones. But on the other hand, He gives grace to the humble. When we have cares that we want to cast on the Lord, we don’t want the Lord to resist us. The word resist actually means to oppose us. So immediately we see that demanding and bullying our way and perspective on everyone puts us in a very precarious position. But God gives grace to the humble. God gives His favor to the humble. This is a better position to be in when we want to toss our cares to the Lord.

The word “care” has been translated anxiety in this translation and others. In still others it’s been translated as worries and in one as disquietudes. There is a similar text in psalms written by David which is believed written during the turmoil of Abasalom’s rebellion. “Cast your burden on Jehovah, and He will keep you; He will never allow the righteous to waver.” (Psalm 55:22) David always affirmed the Lord’s faithfulness and help in time of trouble. We can learn from him that in a difficult time we need to remember God’s faithfulness and desire for us to go to Him. David spoke out his trust and reliance on the Lord. We too need to speak out God faithfulness so that we hear it and everyone in our world and the unseen world can hear that God is able and willing to help in time of need. Jesus said, “Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke on you and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest to your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30) We can go to the Throne Room (Hebrew 4:16) to petition and lay at His feet that care, that anxiety, that worry, that disquietude, and believe and rest that He will take care of it.

In summary, humbleness brings God’s favor. He invites us to give Him our cares. And He in turn gives us His burden. Surrender to Him and love enough to help others surrender to Him.

Let us pray:

Father God, I surrender to You my desires and all my plans to You. Open doors to what You desire for me and close those that are not in line with Your purpose for me. Help me to walk in Your way of love and humbleness with others because my Lord, it’s all about You. Thank You Lord for the Holy Spirit Who works in me daily to change me into the image of Jesus, my Lord and Savior. Help me to esteem others better than me. Help me to humble myself and not to exalt myself as someone who has all the answers. All the answers and all help comes from You my Lord.  Help me to remember Your love and Your faithfulness when trouble shows up in my life. Help me to know that You are for me and not against me. And help me Lord to shout it to all who would hear that You are faithful to Your Word. In the Name of Jesus I pray, amen.