Be Humble, Not Haughty
November 7th, 2020(Day 6 in our Election Week 2020 Encouragement series)
“… Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ 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.” (1 Peter 5:5b-7)
Some of us may be thrilled by the outcomes of this week … or the opposite, we may be shocked and grieving … or we find ourselves somewhere in the middle. Well, as these “election week daily devotionals” come to an end today, we earnestly pray that they’ve been an antidote from fear (Monday), becoming prey (Tuesday), worry (Wednesday), feeling overwhelmed (Thursday), and helplessness (yesterday) – basically a Scriptural “shot in the arm” for encouragement and to be buoyed, not by any circumstance we find ourselves, but rather by God’s precious Word. It is His truth which keeps our minds and hearts anchored in Christ and focused on heaven.
Wherever we find ourselves today, let’s remember to “clothe ourselves with humility toward one another …” (1 Pet. 5:5b). When Peter says to “clothe” ourselves, he’s saying to tie-on humility like we would an apron. That is, we are to figuratively cover ourselves by wearing an attitude of humility. Just as an apron protects our clothes from getting stained and messy in the kitchen when we cook, a covering of humility will protect us from how we might otherwise behave in our victories and successes, as well as how we might otherwise react in our defeats and failures.
Why else does Peter exhort us to be humble? He gives us at least three reasons in the verses above. First, “God opposes the proud …” (v. 5). Knowing that God Almighty, the omnipotent Creator of this universe, opposes pride should be all of the reason and motivation we need to clothe ourselves in humility. And further, for those of us who are familiar with Proverbs 6:16-17, we remember that “haughty eyes” is specifically named as one of the seven detestable sins that is an abomination to God.
Peter continues with another reason in verse 5 – God “gives grace to the humble.” Can we just pause for a moment and meditate on that beautiful, blessed truth? Aren’t we all in desperate need of God’s grace, not just this week, but every second of our lives? Scripture assures us that we will indeed be recipients of God’s divine grace as we live humble lives. “For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.’” (Is. 57:15)
Peter provides a third reason for humility in verse 6 – “the mighty hand of God” is the authority over us as believers. Therefore, out of obedience and submission to our sovereign Lord, we are to humble ourselves. What does this look like? Trusting the Lord and His sovereign ways although we may not understand. Not presuming what tomorrow may hold. Holding your open hands (figuratively) – a willingness to humbly submit, believe, and embrace God’s activities in our lives and His plans for our future.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we close out this week, let’s be encouraged (and encourage one another) to put our complete faith in Jesus Christ, casting all of our anxieties on Him because He cares for us (1 Pet. 5:7). Knowing this and the other reasons above that we’ve learned from Peter will lead us to eagerly and joyfully adopt an attitude of humility in our lives. By this we honor our Lord and give the world a true view of love.