Context No. 4117 of 4322 · 1 Peter

1 Peter 5:1-7: in context

1Therefore I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and who will also share in the glory that will be revealed: 2shepherd the flock of God which is among you, exercising the oversight, not under compulsion, but voluntarily; not for dishonest gain, but willingly; 3not as lording it over those entrusted to you, but making yourselves examples to the flock. 4When the chief Shepherd is revealed, you will receive the crown of glory that doesn’t fade away. 5Likewise, you younger ones, be subject to the elder. Yes, all of you clothe yourselves with humility and subject yourselves to one another; for “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 6Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time, 7casting all your worries on him, because he cares for you.

Peter, writing to a church facing suffering, gives instructions about humility and trust. He tells elders to shepherd God's flock willingly and as examples, not lording it over people; and then he calls all of them to clothe themselves with humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the strong hand of God, he says, that he may exalt you at the proper time. And then a tender word: casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Two things stand out. Humility is the posture God blesses. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble, so we are to humble ourselves, trusting him to lift us up in his time rather than exalting ourselves. And the ground of our trust is God's care: cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. We do not have to carry the weight of our anxieties; we can roll all our cares onto him, trusting that the God who holds us cares for us.

Do I humble myself under God's hand rather than grasping to exalt or secure myself, and do I cast all my anxieties on him, trusting that he cares for me personally and will lift me up in his own time?

Sources

1 Peter 5:6-7: "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time, casting all your worries on him, because he cares for you."
1 Peter 5:5: "All of you clothe yourselves with humility... for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
1 Peter 5:2: "Shepherd the flock of God which is among you... not as lording it over those entrusted to you, but making yourselves examples to the flock."