LEARNING DAILY

1 Peter 5:6-7, Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

One more thought about being a disciple of Jesus Christ – discipleship is not about you; it’s about glorifying Him in all that is said and done. It is about walking the narrow way in the best way we know how, trusting Him to exalt or lift you up when He knows it is time to do so. Do not try to make this happen in your life. Not everyone is meant to preach or teach or ever do anything “spiritual” that others see. Disciples sometimes try to make certain things happen because they see others doing what they think they want to do. The Bible teaches we are not to struggle trying to make things happen and trust God that He will use us at the time He sees fit in the way that will bring glory to Him.

“Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God.” This is a statement to submit to God’s sovereignty in your life in a spirit of humility; it means to trust Him and to accept His will regardless of the circumstances being faced. In Colossians 3:12 humility is a heart attitude not just our outward behavior or appearance. Be careful to put on an outward appearance of humility and still have a heart full of pride and arrogance. The Bible has much to say about humility. All must come to God acknowledging we are not able to save ourselves and have nothing to offer Him spiritually. Through Jesus Christ we are offered salvation, the grace and mercy of God; He tells us we are then to die to self and to walk the narrow way with Him as new creations.

As Believers are walking this narrow way, they become more and more like Christ, serving others rather than desiring to be served, putting our interests and needs before others. That’s dying to self! Jesus is always the Believer’s example; He was never ashamed to show His humility even, to the point of being nailed to a cross. Think about His life on earth. There was no selfish ambition or conceit in His words or actions. He never attempted to justify what He said or what He did; He never defended himself against the religious leaders and those who were continually trying to attack or trap Him. Paul writes that Believers are to have this same attitude of putting away all selfishness and submit in obedience to God and His Word. Believers are not to seek their own glory in what they do, stop doing and saying things to be recognized.

“Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” This completes the thought about the Believer, a disciple, humbling themselves before God. Believers do this because He is God, and we are not! That is pretty straightforward. Believers trust He is watching over them and will take care of them – in every situation! He is all-knowing, all-powerful and certainly capable of handling all of our anxieties, our cares. Those cares Paul is writing about are our fears, that which we worry about, the unknown, and all the things going on in the world around us. Everything that burdens us, that weighs so heavily upon each Believer are to be “cast or thrown upon the One who cares so much for every Believer. “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Those are the words of the Lord Jesus written in Matthew 11:28-30; He tells each one of us to come to Him and give everything that burdens us to Him. Do you see the promise: He will give “rest for your soul”! That assurance is based on who He is. The rest comes when Believers trust Him to help carry whatever burden we have and be with us through the trial or situation.