June 4, 2025

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you.” – 1 Peter 5:6-7

Most of us probably get humility wrong. We either think of ourselves much more highly than we ought, or we belittle ourselves. Both of these extremes are not humility. We often, like little children, vacillate between thinking we’re the greatest or hating ourselves. This is far from mature. In fact, there are a lot of aspects of healthy humility that we probably have never even considered.

One of those aspects is a willingness to turn our lives over to God. In our world we are often taught that taking everything on your shoulders is part of being a responsible adult. Carrying “the weight of the world” means that you are mature and self-sacrificing, right? Well, not if you have left God out of the picture. Giving in to the lie that you can handle anything, no matter how difficult, is incredibly arrogant. In reality, the mature follower of Christ recognizes their need for him and casts their cares on him. This is part of what it means to “humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God.” Being the “hero” and handling every problem that comes up is hidden arrogance, because you are making more of yourself than you should. But stepping up to help in every situation, clearly understanding that the ultimate power to accomplish anything rests in God’s hands, exalts him instead of you. So cast your cares on him, because he cares deeply for you. This recognition of your weakness and his strength is a beautiful step in the direction of true humility. If there is any exalting that needs to be done, he will do it.

Heavenly Father, forgive us for the times we make ourselves out to be “gods.” Forgive us for the hidden arrogance that often shows up in our self-sacrifice. We can do nothing without You. We want You be exalted in every one of our accomplishments and every one of our failures.

In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Shane Cannon