1 Peter 5:6-7
Humble yourselves, 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.
A couple of days ago I was searching for a verse to help me with my anxiety about graduate school. I knew about verse 7 in First Peter (one of my favorite Letters), and I even have it on many pieces of art throughout my room, but I never took a closer look at the context of this verse. I opened my Journaling Bible to this page and saw the mostly empty page and knew this was going to be my next project, and I thought it was going to be about anxiety. When I started to read the whole chapter and pray, I realized that God was telling me something completely different than what I had thought I sat down to hear.
In this letter Peter is reminding the Christian exiles that they (us) need to spread the gospel. This, in my opinion, is Peter's main purpose in writing. However, Peter also reminds us to stay humble and respectful of our elders in chapter 5. He tells us to shepherd God's flock, and to not do it for shameful gain, but for God's glory. Then, he continues by telling us that once we humble ourselves God will exalt us at the proper time. This is what caught my attention. I already knew I could fall into God's arms and beg to get into the graduate school that I hope to get into, but what I needed to realize is that I need to be patient and wait for God to tell me that I did or did not get in. Maybe I am not ready to know, and maybe that is what God is trying to tell me. I still sought Jesus' mercy and comforting arms in this situation, but instead of just asking to get a response from a school I asked Him to teach me patience because I knew I would need it again for something else in my life.
From this realization I was able to fully understand that I was in desperate need of some patience. I needed to fully understand that at the proper time God would show me the plan He has mapped out for me and my future. It's still hard for me to just sit back and wait (I'm a stickler for planning and organization), but I have to trust God and His plan for me. Also, God does not want us to just stop worrying about life and let whatever happen happen. He does want to know our worries and our stresses, and He wants us to talk to Him about them. In verse 7, Peter reminds us that we have to cast our anxieties (and fears, and doubts, and worries, etc) onto God because He truly does care for us. He cares about us more than any human being and soul ever could.
I've asked god for patience before. I've God for many things before and I have been lucky enough to be blessed with many of those things I asked for. I believe that this verse is telling me that I need to be more humble, and I think this verse can help so many people remember that God has a plan and that we have to wait for God's plan to be revealed to us. Now I pray that God shows me how to have patience and how to trust in His plan for me.
Thought Questions:
How can we, as sons and daughters of God, help our fellow neighbors and remind them to trust in Gods plan?
In your prayers think about something you have been very anxious about (a new job, acceptance into grad school, graduation, etc) and ask God how you can become more patient in your waiting.
How can you humble yourself more this year, and how can you trust in God's plan more?
From this realization I was able to fully understand that I was in desperate need of some patience. I needed to fully understand that at the proper time God would show me the plan He has mapped out for me and my future. It's still hard for me to just sit back and wait (I'm a stickler for planning and organization), but I have to trust God and His plan for me. Also, God does not want us to just stop worrying about life and let whatever happen happen. He does want to know our worries and our stresses, and He wants us to talk to Him about them. In verse 7, Peter reminds us that we have to cast our anxieties (and fears, and doubts, and worries, etc) onto God because He truly does care for us. He cares about us more than any human being and soul ever could.
I've asked god for patience before. I've God for many things before and I have been lucky enough to be blessed with many of those things I asked for. I believe that this verse is telling me that I need to be more humble, and I think this verse can help so many people remember that God has a plan and that we have to wait for God's plan to be revealed to us. Now I pray that God shows me how to have patience and how to trust in His plan for me.
Thought Questions:
How can we, as sons and daughters of God, help our fellow neighbors and remind them to trust in Gods plan?
In your prayers think about something you have been very anxious about (a new job, acceptance into grad school, graduation, etc) and ask God how you can become more patient in your waiting.
How can you humble yourself more this year, and how can you trust in God's plan more?
