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Ring of Truth provides 366 daily ‘proofs’ that the Bible is consistent throughout from Genesis to Revelation, and relevant for our lives today!
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1 Peter 5:6-9
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”
Here it is yet again. It’s a ‘Ring of Truth’!
“Humble yourselves.” It is not for God to do it to you or for others to help you with – you have to do it yourself. It’s part of taking up the Cross daily (see Luke 9:23-24).
It is submitting to the authority of Christ and asking Him to be Lord of your day; submitting your agenda to His agenda and your priorities and desires to His priorities and will for your life.
Notice it is so ‘that He may lift you up.” That is not up to you. You don’t have to try and force it along or push yourself forward.
It’s interesting, isn’t it? There is never a rush of people volunteering to sweep the floor or clean up the mess, is there? Certainly not over the long haul.
In our church we have two men who have provided drinks and biscuits after church for 5 years. Very few have ever thanked them or offered to help – even fewer have offered to stand in to give them a week off. The same is true of a couple that run off the tapes of the services. They are some of the unsung heroes.
Notice also Peter says “in due time.” Oh dear, do we have to wait that long? Yes. You see, only God knows when we can handle it and it is usually later than we think.
Servant leadership is what God is looking for. That is why Jesus said, “The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve” (Matthew 20:28). In John 13, Jesus took a towel and washed His disciples feet – so too should we.
Peter reminds us that even in leadership, we have the right and privilege to “cast all [our] anxiety on [Jesus] because He cares for [us].” We don’t have to carry it alone.
As I have said before, the call of God and His specific anointing for our role in the Kingdom gives us the authority to give all those pressures back to God. It’s when we move out into areas for which He has neither called nor anointed us that we can’t expect help when we ask. Because He hasn’t asked us to do it in the first place. (Then we experience what is called ‘burn out’.)
“Your enemy the devil prowls around… looking for someone to devour.” Yes, he is still at it. We don’t need to worry or be afraid though. If we have humbled ourselves “under God’s mighty hand”, we can stand firm in the faith because Satan’s first attack is upon the proud. He is the expert at pride and knows how to deal with people like himself. He feeds it.
Peter, however, like Paul, reminds us that all we suffer and all that we experience is nothing unusual (see 1 Corinthians 10:13). Every Christian is in a battle, having to deal with issues that are challenging to them. We have different strengths and weaknesses but we all face challenges. We grow strong as we learn how to deal with them and how to more readily and fully submit to Christ.
Those of us who live in cosy surroundings should remember and pray for those going through the harder or more violent persecution.
Remember – these trials are temporary. When the King returns and takes us to the New Heaven & New Earth, all the pain will seem minute and irrelevant.
Hang in there today. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of your faith (see Hebrews 12:2-4).
Give “ALL your anxiety” to Jesus right now, for “He cares for you” too.
Now leave it there and don’t try to take it back.
Instead, go and enjoy the rest of the day.
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