If you haven’t noticed, the lessons over the last few weeks have centered around how we can handle this pandemic in a way that brings glory to God and helps strengthen His church: Today will be no exception. In those lessons, you may have noticed that they were inspired in part by many of you as we share our lives during these troubled times. As I was thinking about what I might focus on this week, my mind was brought to a verse often mentioned by Matthew Sampson over the years. This Bible verse, I believe, provides a helpful hint in dealing with times of uncertainty.
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt
you in due time, casting all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you.
1st Peter 5:6
It is no surprise that humility starts us off. Someone once said, “True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” Peter reminds of this simple truth, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (1st Peter 5:5). It is here that we need to reflect for a moment on the situation at hand. Early Christians faced “various trials” which “grieved” them. The Greek word translated grieved means to make sorrowful; to affect with sadness, cause grief; to throw into sorrow. The situation they found themselves in was troubling and was impacting them emotionally. Peter would say later on, “But even if you should suffer for righteousness sake, you are blessed” (1st Peter 3:14). It was not easy being a follower of Christ, both then and even today. Okay, I have a question to ask. When do we tend to try and take control of things? Well, it is when we believe things are out of control…right? Could that be the reason that humility is so desperately needed? We need to remember that we are “under the mighty hand of God.” He’s got this! He knows what He is doing, even when it does seem like it. Things are never “out of control”; but rather, under the control of His mighty hand. Now the next part is equally important, for that faith that accepts His power needs to know that He will “exalt us in due time.” We might feel tempted to ask, “When?” The answer is simple to say and, at times, hard to understand. He will exalt you at the right time. Our faith needs to trust Him enough to know that He knows what He is doing.
Okay, with humility steering our thoughts and faith urging us to believe that God is in control, we are now positioned to receive some much-needed help to deal with those “various trials” of life. Why now? Because without humility and faith, who is going to really “cast all your cares upon Him”? Not some…all! We do this because we believe that He cares for us, even when circumstances may cause us to question that fact.
So, as we travel through life, may the God of all grace guide you heavenward. May he strengthen your faith, and your resolves unmovable. Why? Because God’s got this!
Dennis
Biddeford Church of Christ 