In The Meantime

He says in verse 5, “…GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE. (6) Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time” The first thing he mentions is

I. Be Patient (6)

He quotes the essence of Proverbs 3:34, Though He scoffs at the scoffers, yet He gives grace to the afflicted. Patience is a by-product of humility and humility is the great preserver of peace. Pride on the other hand is the great disturber of peace. It leads to irrational decisions and impatience! Pride causes dissension and there is mutual opposition between God and the proud, GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE. So, the apostle adds: “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time” Humble yourselves, not only to each another, but to our great God, who is Sovereign. He can easily pull down the proud or exalt the humble. Considering the power behind the omnipotent hand of God is humbling. It should lead us to submission. He is ALL POWERFUL. There are no boundaries, no limit to His ability to restore, reverse, exalt, bring down, create or destroy! Humbling ourselves under the mighty hand of God leads to exaltation. James 4:10 says, Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. And Jesus said in Luke 14:11 "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." Faith requires patience. If we truly trust Him, we must humble ourselves and wait for Him to move. We often get ahead of God or ask Him to perform, all the while making decisions that obstruct what God is doing. Impatience often leads to rash decisions and detrimental actions that later bring regret and disappointment. Why not instead allow patience to have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:4)

God intends for believers to endure troubles and trials. Listen to Romans 5:3-5, “…we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance [patience, endurance]; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.(Romans 5:3-5) James wrote in chapter 1:3, “knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance; [patience]” it is the exact same word. While we are waiting on God, exercise patience!

II. Be Prayerful (7) casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

Peter is quoting, with some slight alteration, Psalm 55:22, Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken. We cast our anxiety on Him when we fulfill Jesus’s command, Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' Our heavenly Father knows that we have those needs and God cares more for us than the lilies of the field or birds in the sky! God cares for us; therefore, don’t be over-anxious, instead trust in Him. Paul wrote in Philippians 4:6, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Don’t only pray as a last resort. Make prayer a daily part of your life. Pray for guidance as well as deliverance. If we prayed first, we might avoid many of things we pray for deliverance from later. The greatest enemies of our faith and peace are impatience and prayerlessness! When it comes to making good decisions “in the meantime”, we need to pray and follow some biblical principles: