“6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
-1 Peter 5:6-11 (ESV)
For many people, submitting ourselves to another person is perhaps one of the most difficult things we ever do although at its core, submission is a simple concept. Pride, that the hefty weight called pride that exists within hearts, often keeps our knees from hitting the floor and our heads from bowing. This same pride is what Peter focuses on here in the beginning of this passage. I find his word choices interesting, especially when he portrays the Almighty. He begins by telling us as his readers, to “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God” Let us examine three words here: “Humble.” “Under” and “Mighty.”
In the first word, we see a command. Peter is commanding us in such a way as to say “there is no other option to be under the mighty hand of God than to humble yourself.” In other words, when under the hand of the Almighty God, there is no room for pride. In His presence, man’s pride only dissipates. However, this is not a bad thing. In fact, it is a marvelous truth that when we approach the sovereign, almighty, just God with “humble” hearts that submit “under” His authority, guidance, and lordship, He acknowledges our submission and in return, exalts us! He does not let one act of service go unnoticed. When we consciously bow to Him, we can take great comfort in knowing that our King sees us and from what we can gather in the following verse, cares for us! The Mighty God Who created the cosmos by His breath and daily calls them by name to take their positions is the same God upon Whom we are instructed to cast our cares on. Not only are we casting our cares on a MIGHTY God, we are casting our cares on a mighty God Who CARES for us. Despite the fact that we deserve only His wrath, He demonstrates care and compassion toward His people
Along with the mighty and mightily compassionate God to whom Peter advises us to submit to, he also warns us of our enemy that we should be on guard against. We often become so comfortable in this world and its pleasures that we forget that there is an enemy that prowls around us with all but good intentions. This same enemy is the same one that we flirt with everyday by enticing our flesh with our own desires. It is the same enemy that we take a false sense of comfort in because it produces a sense of happiness within us. In reality, that temporary roller coaster of thrill only ends in a crash of despair. Brothers and sisters, we all have our own lions in our lives. We feed them everyday with the meat of our sins and as long as we do whet their appetite, the enemy accomplishes its goal, the destruction of our souls.
However, just as Peter followed verse 6 with a sweet truth in verse 7, so he follows verse 8 with a sweet truth within verse 9. Do we have an enemy in the “prowling lion” that is the Devil? Yes. But blessed be God, we have a friend in the Roaring Lion that is Christ Jesus! The same Friend upon Whom we cast our anxieties defends us against the accusations of the enemy. Along with His defense, He has given us fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who share the same battle as we do. This, my friends, is exactly why it is important to gather together as a Church body. Charles Spurgeon once said “A man who is with God is the majority” So just imagine the incomprehensible power at our disposal when a body of His followers gather in His name! His very name empowers us to not only attack the false accusations, but even extinguish all his fiery darts! All it takes, is just one bullet of faith, even faith just the size of a mustard seed.
Though this battle is assured certain victory in Christ Jesus, our “Lion of Judah”, it also entails certain suffering. This suffering, as Peter words it, lasts “a little while.” As I have been very vocal about in past writings, it is no secret within scriptures that when suffering is mentioned in the Christian life, its implied duration IS the entire Christian life on Earth. Among many other Biblical writers, Peter emphasizes that our godly suffering is well worth it; at its end, we WILL be restored, we WILL be strengthened, we WILL be confirmed, and we WILL be established. All by the Mighty hand of God that we submit ourselves under.
We conclude with possibly the greatest declaration that can be made: “To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 5:11 is not a statement of plea, nor is it a statement of petition or even a statement of demand. Folks, Peter proclaims the fact: God reigns, and He reigns forever. Praise be to Him who was, is, and is to come! Amen.