"Therefore humble yourselves..." This verse was preceded by a quotation from Proverbs 3:34, "God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble." For my entire life one of my greatest struggles has pertained to this reality. I vacillate between being living proudly independent and humbly dependent on God's grace. In hindsight it seems so silly that I would choose to proudly live my life on my own in my very fallible, weak, and finite state, rather than humbly yielding to the mighty hand of God. First of all, living a humble life under the lordship of Christ is such a peaceful, wonderful place in which to live, so it is very silly that I would give that up. Also, I think I often forget that God is ALMIGHTY GOD. Why would I not trust and serve such an infinitely powerful person? Again, it seems so silly.
"that he may exalt you at the proper time" I think it is only when I am living in a proud state that I read this verse and think, "I need to humble myself before God so that He can exalt me and get me what I need." But when I am truly humbling myself under "the mighty hand of God," I am not looking to be exalted at all. Instead, I patiently wait for Almighty God to show Himself powerful on my behalf so that when I am exalted, provided for, and delivered, I in turn will sing of His glory and might so that He is exalted!
"casting all your anxiety on Him" This is another perk of living under the mighty hand of God: I can cast ALL my anxiety on Him! I don't have to worry about it! Let me explain why this is such good news. Whenever I live life on my own strength and make myself god of the universe, I have to deal with so many problems of such immense proportion, which no one of my strength or intelligence is ever capable of handling or solving. The result is that I am filled with even greater anxiety than that with which I started. With life under the mighty hand of God, I can give Him all my anxieties, all my problems, all my worries, and all my needs because He is infinitely powerful and...
"because He cares for you [Me]." How could I ever trust someone to take on my problems and work them out for me unless I was certain that I mattered to that person. That is the case with God. He cares for me. He loves me. I am precious to Him. Therefore I have no need to doubt that God will take care of my worries and needs because He cares for me and loves me so much! There was a point in my life where I had an inaccurate idea of God and who He is. I thought that He was powerful, wise, sovereign, and trustworthy, but not personal and caring. I praise God for showing me otherwise; and when He did, this was one of the verses that really stuck out to me. The God of the universe cares for me. For me!
The beginning of Isaiah 43 could be used to preface what Peter said above in the two verses. Isaiah 43 verses 1-4 says, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior...Since you are precious in My sight, since you are honored and I love you," therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. He is my Father, and I am His child. I am infinitely loved by Him, and that makes life under the mighty hand of God such a wonderful place in which to live.
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