1 Peter 5:5 Grace to the Humble #199

02 Oct 1 Peter 5:5 Grace to the Humble #199

Posted at 08:04h in Faith by Caroline 0 Comments

In 1 Peter 5, Peter shepherds God’s people in the middle of suffering. He starts off by addressing the elders and then in verse 5, moves to the “young men” however both old and young can benefit from his message. The verses in this chapter are so rich, but today I want to focus on verse 5 which says, “In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.'”

The definition of humble is to “not be proud” or “reflecting, expressing, or offered in a spirit of submission.” If you were to ask me what I thought the word humble meant, I would most often associate it with someone who is not proud. However, this definition of “offering submission” really struck a chord with me. When one humbles themself, essentially they are submitting themself to someone else. Not only that, but this verse says to be “clothed with humility.” What does it look like for you to wear humility at all times?

Peter points out the importance of humility in the latter part of this verse, when it says, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Humility is essential to having a relationship with Christ. If you think about it, that is where your relationship with him starts; it starts when you humble yourself and admit that you are in need of a Savior and Father. Humbling yourself before the Father shouldn’t end when your relationship with him started, it should be a day by day continuous mindset.

Pride and humility are polar opposites. If you are full of pride, not only can God not help you, but he can’t give grace to you either. Pride makes it all about you; humility makes it all about Jesus. Pride puts you in control; humility submits control to God. Pride pushes God away; humility sets you up to receive all that God has for you. Pride is of this world; humility is of Jesus. If you want to access all the grace and favor God has for you, first submit yourself to him and then clothe yourself with humility. When you are willing to hand all aspects of your life over to him, is when God will fully be able to help you, use you and show you his favor.