Once again, I have been tasked with teaching on a passage and topic that I have neither mastered nor have begun to gain proficiency in: humility. Some of you may have just breathed a sigh of relief. You’re already pretty humble- so you think- and so you’re poised for a nice pat on the back! But once you think you have humility, you’ve lost it. So I am here to help you regain it. For others, you may have groaned, because you struggle with pride, and now find yourself blessed to sit through a sermon on humility.

Most are somewhere in between, wondering what in the world I am about to say, but here’s what I can promise you: we all have something to learn today. Not because of what I say but because of what God says. We all have the opportunity to sit before God’s Word and to hear Him speak to us about a virtue that is absolutely necessary for His people.

So what is humility? It is an attitude of mind that realizes that we have no reason to be distinct, special, or important in God’s eyes. It is the recognition that without God, we are nothing. Even in comparison to others, in the grand scheme of things, we are all the same- creatures that are completely dependent upon God for life, breath, andevery good thing.

1 Peter 5:5 commands us to put on humility, “Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble’.” After exhorting the elders in verses 1-4, Peter encourages the entire church, “all of you,” to clothe themselves with humility. Why? Because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.

Thus we see the necessity of our subject this morning. God opposes those without it. The word oppose conveys the imagery of being set in battle array. God opposes the proud as if He is a battling army. Thus we are commanded to clothe ourselves with humility, a rare verb that refers to a slave putting on an apron before serving, as Jesus did before washing the disciples’ feet.

So, what do you want this morning? Do you want God to oppose you? To set His face and His power against you? Or do you want God to be gracious towards you? What determines whether we receive God’s opposition or His grace in our lives? Humility.

Hopefully, you’re convinced you need humility. But you’re probably like me and you have realized that you can’t white-knuckle yourself into being humble. So what are we to do? How can we humble ourselves? Fortunately the rest of our passage gives us three answers. First, we humble ourselves by casting our anxieties on God. Second, we humble ourselves by resisting the attacks of the enemy. And finally, we humble ourselves by trusting God to complete His work in us. Let’s explore these further.

1. We humble ourselves by casting our anxieties on God (v. 6-7).

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under that 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 5:6-7). Notice the word therefore. Since God gives grace to the humble, therefore we must humble ourselves under his mighty hand.

There are a couple of things we need to consider in these verses. First, the phrase under the mighty hand of God. This phrase is reminiscent of the book of Exodus, where God brought His people out of Egypt “with His mighty hand” (Exodus 32:11). The idea here is that we are to humble ourselves under His sovereign control. We are to recognize that He is Lord over every event that happens in our lives, and that whatever comes from His mighty hand, we stand ready to submit to.

Second, notice the purpose of humbling ourselves: so that at the proper time He may exalt you. We naturally worry about our position and status, hoping to be recognized and honored for what we do. But God’s recognition is far greater than human praise, and He promises to reward and exalt, either in this life and/or the next- but He will exalt the humble- at the proper time.

Third, notice the manner in which we humble ourselves: by casting our anxieties on Him, because He cares for us. We humble ourselves by casting our anxieties on Him. Castis a violent word- it means to throw away from, like you would throw a grenade once the pin has been removed.  Carrying our worries, stresses, and daily struggles by ourselves shows that we have not trusted God fully- that’s pride. God calls us to recognize our inability to carry our anxieties and to castthem all on Him- that’s humility. God wants us to consciously throw our daily worries about our faith, family, finances, health, work, marriage, children, etc. away from ourselves and onto Him.

Why does God want us to cast our anxieties on Him? Our text says because He cares for you. Do you believe that? Do you believe that God cares for you? Psalm 103:13 says, “As a Father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.” God is your Father, a Father who is gracious and compassionate. He cares for you deeply, and wants you to cast all your burdens on Him.

God also wants us cast our anxieties on Him so we can grow deeper in our walk with Him. Daily worries hinder our faith. They distract us and rob us from the joy of trusting God and seeing Him provide. Casting our anxieties on God frees us to serve Him and to love others. When we aren’t consumed with all of our own issues, we have the capacity to see other people’s needs and help meet them.

Charles Spurgeon illustrated this point well. Imagine a man who comes to help you move the furniture in your house. When he comes in, he is wearing an enormous backpack filled full of heavy items. He struggles to assist in moving the furniture because of how much he is encumbered by the weight on his  back. “If he would just remove the bag, his task would be far easier,” you think. And thus it is with us- life is much more bearable when we cast our heavy burdens on the One who cares for us. And furthermore, it allows us to take up Christ’s yoke, which is easy, and His burden, which is light.

My mother-in-law’s favorite example of casting our anxieties on God is that of a volleyball. As soon as that anxiety or burden returns, you hit it right back to God. This may need to be daily or even hourly. I’ve experienced this in my own life. I have a health condition that leaves me wondering each day what my health will be like 10, 20, or 30 years from now. But God has taught me the secret of casting that worry on Him, and trusting Him for the grace I need today. But I have to daily remind myself to give it to Him.

What anxieties do you need to cast on God? Is it spiritual- a sin battle that you’re dealing with? An addiction you can’t overcome? Is it physical- something within the realm of health, finances, and work? Is it relational- a brother and sister in Christ you’re struggling to get along with? Familial? Marital? What is it? God invites you to take any and all anxieties and to cast them on Him. You can do that right where you are seated. Give it to him. That’s how we humble ourselves.

2. We humble ourselves by resisting the attacks of the enemy (v. 8-9).

“Be soberminded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world” (1 Peter 5:8-9). Peter transitions from casting our anxieties on the One who cares for us to resisting the One who seeks to devour us. It appears to be a random transition, but these verses reveal a significant truth: humility and spiritual warfare are inextricably linked.

Peter is not alone. James does the same thing in James 4:6-7, “But he [God] gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James quotes the exact same verse from Proverbs 3:34 that Peter quotes in 5:5. He also moves directly from humility to spiritual warfare and says the same thing Peter does, “Resist the devil.” For James and Peter, and therefore for us, humility and the need to resist the devil are clearly linked. But how?

First, the arrogant do not they think they need to be alert to Satan’s devices. They are either too enlightened or intellectual to believe in the demonic realm. Or perhaps they do, but they have enough confidence in themselves to not really give it much thought. I am afraid to say that many of us may be in this boat. In contrast, the humble recognize that they still have a sinful flesh that can be tempted, and thus they are susceptible to spiritual attack. They know they need to be alert.

Second, the arrogant are blinded to Satan’s attacks. They are like the prideful antagonist in any story who is so full of himself that he cannot see the thing that will contribute to his demise. This is why Proverbs 16:18 says that pride goes before a fall. We don’t see what we are about to trip over or run into. Pride blinds us.  In contrast, the humble watch for temptation.

If we would be humble, we must be sober-minded. That means to be alert, to be awake. Why? Because Satan is roaming seeking to devour. He is not omnipresent, but his associates are many, and he stands ready to pounce when we let down our guard. So we watch, and when we are attacked, we resist and stand firm. We do not succumb to temptation, we do not believe lies, we stand firm in the truth.

But notice also the relationship between spiritual warfare and suffering. Peter says, “Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.” What is he saying here? That when we are suffering, we will be tempted, and we will often be tempted with pride.

In the midst of our suffering and pain, the enemy will come along and whisper lies about God to us. This leads us to thinking that we are special, that we have been good, and that God is unjust for allowing us to be afflicted. “Why me, God?” we ask.

The prideful are always surprised by suffering. We naturally assume that what they are experiencing will never happen to us. We are special. I will never have a heart attack. I eat healthy, workout five times a weak, take ice baths, etc. I am not like those people who have heart attacks.” Well, what happens when your heart, or any other organ for that matter, fails you? “I don’t deserve this!” we think. Pride. In ripe position for spiritual attack- “Why would God do this to you…you don’t deserve this…you’ve sacrificed so much…why should you have to suffer?”

The humble recognize that they aren’t special. If the proud ask “why me?” the humble ask “why not me?” The humble person recognizes that they aren’t more important than anyone else, and that God is God and they are not. They stand ready to say with Job, “should we receive good from God, and not receive trouble?”

This is what Peter wanted his readers to understand: they weren’t the only ones suffering. Their brothers and sisters were enduring the same things they were throughout the world. Can I encourage you with that this morning? Our brothers and sisters throughout the world are experiencing the same trials that we are, and many of them are facing far greater persecutions for the faith! So we ought to humble ourselves.

Are you going through a trial? A difficult season? Suffering? Be alert. Temptation is coming. Resist. Do not believe the lies of the enemy. Stand firm. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus- don’t move. Keep trusting. Keep confessing. Keep obeying. Keep seeking. Keep worshipping. Keep serving.

We can only do this if we know that what we are facing is temporary, and that’s exactly what Peter encourages us with next.

3. We humble ourselves by trusting God to complete His work in us (v. 10-11).

“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To Him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 5:10-11).

Notice the subjects of this sentence and what they do. “After you have suffered….” Who is the “you?” The church. We must cast our anxieties on God and we must resist the devil because we still live in a fallen and broken world filled with sin. So we will suffer.

But notice what Peter says…only for a little while. Now he is not making light of our suffering, but He is giving us a time marker- a little while. This won’t last forever, he says. That’s encouraging. It gives us perspective. Recently I had a medical procedure where I elected to not have anesthesia. I had the procedure twice already withanesthesia, so they told me that I was qualified to have it without this time as long as I thought I wouldn’t freak out. I asked one question- can you think of what it is? “How long will it hurt?” “Really bad for 10 seconds.” No problem. I can do anything for 10 seconds, I thought. And I was right. I survived, and was really thankful I could drive myself back to work and didn’t spend the rest of the day feeling groggy. But don’t miss this. It was knowledge of the duration of the pain that helped me endure. That’s what Peter is encouraging us with here, “after you have suffered a little while.”

Then notice the next subject and what they do. “The God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” Do you see it? We suffer. But God gives grace. God calls us to his eternal glory. God restores, confirms, strengthens, and establishes us. Salvation is His work, and He will complete what He starts.

We humble ourselves by trusting God to complete His work in us. In the midst of trials, difficulties, and persecution, we must take God at His Word, that He who began a good work in us will complete it at the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6), and that our light and momentary afflictions are bearing up for us an eternal weight of glory (2 Corinthians 4:17-18). We must labor to see ourselves in light of eternity. That’s a humbling task.

Consider where we began. “Humble yourselves, therefore….so that at the proper time He may exalt you.” So often we think we know when the proper time is. But only God does. He knows the proper time to exalt His children. Sometimes it comes in this life, but it seldom does. And even if it did, the praise and adoration of every human being on earth could never compare to the exaltation we will receive from the hand of our King in His Heavenly kingdom.

So we humble ourselves by waiting for His return or when He will call us home. We wait for our exaltation. We wait for Him to restore our souls. We wait for Him to confirm us in the faith. We wait for Him to strengthen our weak and failing bodies. We wait for him to establish us as His children forever through our resurrection from the dead. Are you trusting Him to complete His work in you? Aren’t you thankful His grace doesn’t depend on us, but on His promises?

Christ’s Humility

Nevertheless, we tend to act as if it depends on us. I remember hearing a sermon on humility once, and having been convinced of my need for it, I was resolved to be humble. But how? Just try harder. That’s how I tried to apply every sermon: just try harder! But that only led to frustration and disappointment. So “try harder to be humble” is not the point of my message today. “Trust Christ- who was the only One who was truly humble” is.

That’s good news. Because you and I are no different. We are not naturally humble before God. Our default is pride. This can be traced all the way back to the Fall, where mankind’s battle with pride began. Temptation in the garden gave rise to pride in their hearts. Satan asked, “did God really say not to eat from any tree in the garden?” In other words, did God really limit you? And when Adam and Eve respond that there is only one tree from which they are not allowed to eat from, lest they die, Satan implies that God doesn’t want them to eat because then they would be like Him. Be like God…that sounds nice. You’re right, He probably doesn’t want us to be like Him. He’s holding out on us. How dare He! Does He not recognize who we are?

So they ate. Rather than humbly trusting their Creator and His command, Adam and Eve found a desire in themselves to be like God, to know good and evil like he does. Instead of remaining humble and resisting the attacks of the enemy, they seized the forbidden fruit, full of pride, and ate.

We are no different than them. We focus on ourselves. We take things personally. We are self-centered, self-preserving, proud creatures. Need proof? When someone takes a photo and you’re in it, who’s the first person you look at when you see that photo? Case dismissed.

We naturally think that we know best, that our way is the right way, that our feelings, thoughts, ideas are the most important. And before we come to Christ, this is how we think towards God. Who is He to tell us what to do? How dare anyone tell us what we can and can’t do? Adam & Eve: how dare God withhold this wisdom- the knowledge of good and evil- from us? And our pride leads us to sin- to reject God- leaves us without that which we were created for- a relationship with Him.

But God is gracious and compassionate, so He sent His Son to rescue us. He lived a perfect life on our behalf, never giving in to pride, but always remaining humble. He cast all His anxieties on His Father. He watched for and resisted the attacks of the enemy. Remember the temptation of Jesus during his fast alone in the wilderness? Satan temps Him with pride, “IF you are the Son of God…then you shouldn’t be hungry! IF you are the Son of God… the angels should serve you! IF you are the Son of God…you deserve the ownership and worship of all the nations!” But what did Jesus do? In humility, He resisted. He stood firm. He trusted God to complete His work in and through Him, that at the proper time He would be exalted.

So the message is not to “be more humble.” It is to repent of your pride and trust Christ, who was humble on your behalf- and have His humility credited to you. It is to trust the One who paid the ultimate paid the penalty for all your pride- the judgement of God against all sin, so that when you place your faith in Him you are reconciled to God, filled with the Holy Spirit, and actually enabled to live a life of humility, so that at the proper time God may exalt you, just as He did His Son.

Invitation

So where do you find yourself in light of this passage? Are you carrying anxieties that you need to cast on Jesus? Give those things to him this morning. Pray to God, tell Him the things you’re anxious about, the things you’ve been carrying yourself, and trust Him to carry them for you. He is able- if He carried your greatest burden of sin on the cross, He can carry anything you’re dealing with now.

Are you in the midst of spiritual warfare? The answer is yes, all of us are. Pray for the grace to be alert, resist the enemy, and stand firm in the faith.

Are you weary of suffering and pain? Believe by faith that after you have suffered a little while, God will restore you. He will confirm you. He will strengthen you. He will establish you in glory.

My final question is this. Have you met the Jesus that carried your burden, fought the enemy on your behalf, and provided eternal glory for you? Are you still carrying the anxieties of life because you’re still carrying the crushing burden of your sin? My friend, cast that burden on Christ today. Turn from your sin and trust Him. He is gentle and lowly of heart. He will save you, redeem you, restore you, and confirm you.

Let’s pray.