Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 1 Peter 5:6 KJV
Context and Charge:
Ever wondered why God hates pride so much? Is it possible that pride fills a man with a sense of importance that makes him think he is indispensable? Or is it because it emphasises a man's achievements and skills, with nothing said about how he came to achieve those things, who or what helped him, and the lessons that total dependence on God should teach? Whatever is the basis for pride, it is obvious that it can never lead to the fulfilment of God's perfect plan for man. Is there room for a false sense of selfish ambition in me that God needs to deal with?
As made quite clear in today's extract, it is my responsibility to humble myself under the mighty hand of God. No man experiences God's mighty hand and still wants to promote himself. You don't see God at work in amazing and miraculous ways and still think you are indispensable. In fact, if I am very careful to observe how God works, I will see a God of absolute knowledge, wisdom and power at work. He cannot be predicted, and He does what he pleases, when and how He pleases. He answers to no one, and one day soon, all the earth will know and admit the power of this God.
Conviction and Conclusion:
The hand of God is mighty. His hand is able to save and deliver. He can bring down to the ground and also lift up to the highest. If you critically consider the stories of some of our heroes and heroines of faith, as well as those who failed in the way, you see very clearly that God's hand is mighty but there's a role each of them played in the final outcome. Men like David and women like Deborah understood the power of this God, and He came through for them. Men like king Saul and women like Michal his daughter also knew first-hand the pain and penalty of pride and arrogance. God can lift up and bring down anyone if their actions so warrant it.
If I will see God move on my behalf, my life has to line up with His perfect will. If I key into what God is doing, I am setting myself up for elevation at God's appointed time. Only the humble is constantly dependent on God's guidance and sustenance. Only the humble constantly seeks God's mind on all matters before acting. Only the humble will remind himself constantly not to get ahead of himself, as He will always have need of God at all times. If I can wait for God, He makes the wait worth it. If I run ahead of Him to take hold of what he did not give me, I rob myself of all the amazing things God wants to do in and through me. Wait for God; He is worth it. God's time of favour is here.
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