Compiled By: Lisa K Gonzales From: The Life Application Study Bible
6 “So humble yourselves under the mighty power of GOD, and in HIS good time HE will honor you. 7 Give all you worries and cares to GOD, for HE cares about what happens to you. 8 Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around liked a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour. 9 Take affirm stand against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.” ~ 1 Peter 5:6-9
We often worry about our position and status, hoping to get proper recognition for what we do. But Peter advises us to remember that GOD’s recognition counts more than human praise. GOD is able and willing to bless us according to HIS timing. When we humbly obey GOD regardless of present circumstances, in HIS good time – either in this life or in the next – HE will honor us. Carrying our worries, stresses, and daily struggles by ourselves shows that we have not trusted GOD fully with our lives. However, it takes humility to recognize that GOD cares, to admit our need, and to let others in GOD’s family help us. Sometimes we think that struggles caused by our own sin and foolishness are not GOD’s concern. But when we turn to GOD in repentance, HE will bear the weight even of those struggles. Letting GOD have our anxieties calls for action, not passivity. We should not submit to circumstances but to the LORD, who controls circumstances.
Lions attack sick, young, or straggling animals; they choose victims who are alone or not alert. Peter warns us to watch out for Satan when we are suffering or being persecuted. Feeling alone, weak, helpless, and cut off from other believers, so focused on our troubles that we forget to watch for danger, we are especially vulnerable to Satan’s attacks. During times of suffering, seek out other Christians for support, keep your eyes on Christ, stand firm and resist the Devil. – “So humble yourselves before GOD. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.” – James 4:7 – Satan is very present in our society today, and he is trying to lure us over to his evil cause. With the Holy Spirit’s power, we can resist him, and he will flee from us.
Father GOD, we humble ourselves under YOUR mighty power. We give all our worries and cares of this world to YOU because we know LORD that YOU care about what happens to us. Guard us Father, fill us with the power of the Holy Spirit so that we may take a firm stand against Satan and remain strong in our faith when we face the trials and troubles of this world. We know that when we turn to YOU, Father GOD, YOU will bear the weight of all our struggles. We will not submit to circumstances. We submit to YOU, LORD – the ONE WHO controls all circumstances! With the power of the Holy Spirit we can resist the Devil, and he will flee from us – in Jesus most powerful Name! HALLELUJAH!
Photo: Quechee (Vermont)
Photographer: Lisa K Gonzales
