Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, (ESV)

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. (NIV)

So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. (NLT)

Dive Deeper:

Sometimes I have these moments as I’m on the highway: I look around at the cars next to me, and for a moment, I have this overwhelming feeling of smallness. I think about the fact that on the small Iowa highway I find myself on, there are thousands of commuters. They are families, people, and living, breathing souls that all find identity in something, are on a mission, and thinking often only of the world that resides within their vehicle…including myself. Have you ever thought about this? 

We find ourselves smack dab in the middle of a tension between thinking too little of ourselves or way too much of ourselves. Humility… the paradox of all paradoxes. 

True gospel-humility that is not a facade is found when we lower ourselves. It’s found when we serve our brothers and sisters, when we feed the hungry, when we give of ourselves, when we empty our pockets to the needy, when we encourage others without response, and when we love without expectation. Humility will lead us to self-forgetfulness which leads to freedom. It will lead to freedom from self and anxiety. It’s not about thinking less of ourselves or living in the prison of self deprecation; rather it’s about living under the mighty hand of God and just looking up at it. When we walk worthy in humility, we don’t forget about ourselves by trying to forget about ourselves; we do it by thinking about God and about others. 

If you want to be exalted, you must neither seek being exalted, nor can you seek a lowly place just for the sake of being exalted alone. You must simply understand you are already low and gaze at the One who is high above all things—the one whose hand you reside under. When we stop trying to build ourselves up and instead lower ourselves into a humble position, that is actually how we will be lifted, restored, protected, and strengthened. The truth is this: humility is the main solution to our battle against anxiety. 

The beauty in it all is that the things we want most in life—the things that tend to produce great anxiety in our souls—to be seen, known, and loved, will be utterly and miraculously fulfilled when we stop striving for these things for ourselves and instead help others obtain them. Ultimately, we are lifted up by God when we understand He is the only one strong enough to do it. When we attempt to lift ourselves, we will be utterly crushed, but when we realize we are already crushed and fall into the hand of God, we will be lifted. 

The freedom of humility is understanding that you don’t have what it takes but you know the One who does. You can’t rid yourself of worry unless you cast it on Him. In 1 Peter, it says a few verses later, “cast all your burdens on Him,” and “He will restore, support, and strengthen you, placing you on a strong foundation.” The things we want most in life are found in the One who is life, who humbled Himself even to a criminal's death on a cross in our place. Let Him lift you and give you all things in due time. 

Written by Blake Stanley 

Challenge:

Just like Peter writes in chapter five verse ten about the things that Christ fulfills and gives us, I encourage you to write down a list of things that only He can fulfill in your life. Through the list, understand your weakness, and be strengthened by Him alone.