1 Peters 5:6 – 9: Humble yourself, therefore, under the
mighty hand of GOD so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all
your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful.
Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to
devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of
suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.
The above encouragement is one of the apostolic advice given by
apostle Peter himself to the believers; though the last advice he rendered in
this epistle yet of great importance in the life of every one that wish to live
a godly life; it echoed the theme and purpose of this entire epistle which is,
to encourage those who persevere in faith while suffering persecution to be
full of hope for they will certainly enjoy end-time salvation, since they
already enjoy Gods saving promises through Christ’s death and resurrection.
In verse 6 our text
today, we see Peter making a call to the believers to humble themselves under
Gods mighty hand; Peter here addressed the issue of pride, he knew that there
are tendencies of Gods people to think that they can handle their problems
without necessarily involving God.
Many a times, we tend to worry over issues
of life instead of rendering them to God in Prayers, even when we pray about
them; we still worry over them as if we can actually solve the very problem by
being worried. Worry is a form of pride
which takes concern upon oneself instead of entrusting them to God, who cares
for his people.
In the book of 1 Sam 30:6 David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning
him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David
found strength in the Lord his God.
Wonder why God called David the man after his heart? As a king,
David could have commanded his army to take care of the men who were planning
on stoning him, he could have being having sleepless night planning on how to
defend himself and his family, but he realized that without God, he will not be
able to make a head forward; as a king whom other people rely on, David relied
on God, he humbled himself before God who he believes is superior than Himself.
Peter says here, instead of worrying your head out over that
situation which you are facing, why not hand it over to God who cares for you.
The act of being worried is a sign of denying the fact that God cares for you;
it speaks of your rejection over Gods offer to care for you and your
willingness to start caring for yourself. It is like saying; thank you Lord for offering to care for me
but I do not need your cares because I can now care for myself. Every time
we worry ourselves over issues of life instead over committing them to God, we
deny Gods cares and love for us.
In verse 8 of this
scripture, Peter pointed out the reason why we must humble/submit ourselves to
God; ‘the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour’.
There is a man whose duty is to move around seeking who is no longer under the
care of God so as to devour/destroy or deceive him. The devil cannot deceive
nor devour you when you are under Gods care; worry withdraws a man from Gods
care and makes him stand alone, defenseless and vulnerable for the devils
attack.
The devil understands this principle very well and that is why
he is always on the lookout for people who have being withdrawn from Gods list
of care in other to deceive them. Notice that the thought to solve your problem
in a wrong way comes in to your mind whenever you give in to worry.
Why did you agree to the arrangement of getting pregnant before
he weds you? Why did you agree to the arrangement of swearing false affidavit
of age because you need a job? Why did you agree to the thought of getting pregnant
for another man because for years, your husband could not impregnate you? Why did you accept that ungodly arrangement
because of the benefit therein? You have lost hope of Gods ability to proffer a
solution to that condition you found yourself and the devil who is always on
the lookout proffered a solution for you.
Hear the words of Peter in 1 Peter 4:7 “the end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and
self-controlled so that you can pray.” Worry makes you to be clouded with
thoughts in your mind and the outcome is inability to pray; when a man is
unable to pray, his soul becomes porous and fit for the devils attack. For this
reason, Peter also advised in 1 Peter 1:13 that you should prepare your minds for action; be
self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus
Christ is revealed. That is to say, instead of being worried over the
issues of life, why not set your mind on the grace to be given you when Jesus
Christ comes, why not ponder on the crown of glory that will be accorded you if
you remain faithful to God.
In verse 9, Peter
pointed out that, you are not the only one passing through afflictions, it may
interest you to know that the same situation that made you jump into
prostitution, the same issue that made you yield to a night sex, or to that
ungodly act, someone somewhere has passed through them and yet remained
steadfast to faith. Afflictions are not peculiar to you; people pass through
worse situations than yours yet they still pledge their allegiance to God
because they have completely submitted their lives to Jesus.
If you yield to afflictions and accept
Satan’s remedy, how will you stand before God on the judgment day when you face
a man who had greater afflictions than yours yet he rejected Satan’s remedies?
Beloved of God, know you today that the hour has come for you to
wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we
first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. It is time
for us to put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. This
is a call for you to behave decently, as in the day-time, it is time to get rid
of the fleshly orgies and drunkenness, purify yourself from all forms of sexual
immoralities and be yea holy for the angels of God are prepared, waiting for an
instruction to blow the trump.
