1 Peter 5:6-11 *
Dear Friends in Christ,
I would like to state at the outset that this sermon is not going to be specifically devoted to the blessings of motherhood in particular or Christian womanhood in general, not that all of us aren’t extremely grateful to God for both.
That being said, the fact that this is Mother’s Day does present a fitting introduction to the text we have before us.
Allow me to make the connection by posing a question: If you had to reduce all that constitutes motherhood to, say, two main component parts, what would they be? Certainly our answers would vary, but I believe we could make an argument that two of the greatest and most appreciated traits exhibited by mothers toward their children are “love” and “encouragement.”
Mother-love is perhaps the most unconditional form of love that exists within the world. Little has to be said to support such a claim.
But is it not true that mothers are also great encouragers? At times when things aren’t going right for sons or daughters – when they get cut from the sports team or get passed over for the school play or get dumped by their girlfriend or boyfriend or come to the realization that some of their hopes and dreams are simply not going to happen – mothers are often at the front of the line dispensing counsel and trying to provide perspective on a life that at the time seems to be in a permanent state of disrepair.
So within the realm of our own experience, it’s hard to conceive of someone more loving or more encouraging than a mother.
But there is. And that someone is God. Mothers may indeed be the gold standard for love and encouragement on earth, but they are a distant second compared to God’s love for us as demonstrated in the cross of Jesus Christ and God’s encouragement to us as delivered in the pages of Holy Scripture. This comes through loud and clear in our text for today, which we might entitle
A WORD OF LOVING ENCOURAGEMENT TO GOD’S CHILDREN
It may have been some time since we got cut from the team or passed over for the play, but any of us who ever find ourselves discouraged or confused or troubled by events that sometimes come into our lives will benefit greatly from what God has to tell us today.
The words of our text were originally written by the Apostle Peter (under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit) to fortify young-in-the-faith Christians who were beginning to feel persecution because of their allegiance to Jesus Christ. Earlier Peter told them this opposition should not surprise them and that they should instead expect it. After all, Christ Himself suffered for them and no servant is greater than his master. On this side of heaven we will have our share of trouble. Now, at the end of his letter Peter lays out this three-step strategy for dealing with difficult times of any kind or stripe:
1. Trust God 2.
Resist Satan 3. Expect help
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. What does it mean to humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand? We could go a number of directions with this question, but basically it means to recognize that God is in control of our lives and to humbly accept what He, in His wisdom, brings into them.
This is easy enough to do when things are going well. But it’s not so easy when God – again always in his wisdom – allows events into our lives that we don’t particularly like or would never choose for ourselves. When, perhaps despite fervent and prolonged prayer, we’re wrestling with difficult personal issues or dealing with reversals of fortune or helplessly watching things happen in our lives or the lives of our loved ones that cause us pain and heartache, it is sometimes difficult to see how these things fit into the big, positive scheme of things…
Yet even in our darkest moments we can trust God. Why? Romans 8:32 provides the answer: “He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” The cross of Jesus Christ is the definitive and undeniable expression of God’s love for us. The cross gives us perspective. God has met our greatest need – the forgiveness of our sins – through the voluntary sacrifice of His Son in our behalf. We are redeemed, restored, forgiven; heirs of heaven. Therefore we are confident of His control and accepting of what He sends into our lives as His gracious will for His beloved, blood-bought children.
Besides that, we willingly endure what God brings into our lives with the promise that he may lift us up in due time. Due time = His time. God lifts us up, that is, delivers us from our troubles, both in this world and the next. Heaven is the ultimate “lifting up” of the humble. Even if God does ask us to walk a rocky road throughout our earthly pilgrimage, we know the greatness of the glory that’s in store for us is far beyond what the Apostle Paul refers to as our light and momentary troubles here on this earth.
Yet, the relief God promises is not limited only to
heaven. God also lifts us up even while we remain on planet earth. 1 Corinthians
In the meantime, He makes Himself personally available to us through prayer. Our text continues with these beautiful words: Cast all your anxieties on him because he cares for you. A literal translation of this passage brings out its comfort even more: “Cast all your anxieties on Him, because to Him it matters.” In other words, our lives matter to God. That’s a pretty mind-boggling thought.
From a purely worldly point of view we seem so
insignificant. But here’s the great
news: even though we are among billions of people on planet earth, not a single one of us are overlooked or
passed over. We matter to God! And because we matter to God, He does not
want us to go through life carrying all kinds of emotional baggage in the form
of worry and anxiety. So He gives us the
wonderful invitation to cast our
anxieties on Him.
What God is saying here is that He does not want His children to be human storehouses full of accumulated problems and worries. Troubles are going to come into our lives, but with these words God suggests that we move them out as soon as they hit the loading dock. In essence, He invites His children be shipping terminals rather than warehouses.
God’s first word of loving encouragement to us is to trust Him at all times and to see everything that happens to us in the loving shadow of the cross. But He also knows that such confidence, especially in difficult times, will not come uncontested. And so His second word of encouragement to us is to resist the enemy.
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith. Here’s the connection between the last verse and this one: At the times in our lives when we must trust the most that God is living and active and in control of our lives is also the time when Satan will try his hardest to derail us. Therefore the warning: Be self-controlled and alert. Why? Because the devil is on the loose. And just like a lion will often go after an animal that is weakened or apart from the herd, so Satan waits to attack when he perceives that we are at our weakest or most anxious.
The word “devil” is actually a courtroom term that means “accuser” or “slanderer.” That’s precisely how he operates. He accuses us of our beliefs and tries to get us to doubt the will and wisdom of God. Especially in times of personal hardship or difficulty he is right there whispering in our ear: “If you are really a child of God, why is this happening to you? If God is so good and loving, why is He doing this to you?” Accusations and slander are the tricks of his trade.
So, how do we deal with his tactics? Peter says we must resist him. How? By standing firm in the faith. Faith in what? God’s promise that He loves us with an everlasting love. God’s declaration that He will give us daily strength to endure. The Gospel message that tells us that our sins are forgiven and that the difficulties we go through are not sort of punishment for past indiscretions. Standing firm in the faith is another Scriptural call to a strong spiritual life based on a solid knowledge of God’s Word.
Peter mentions a further motivation for resisting Satan is
the knowledge that we do not fight these battles alone. Resist
him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout
the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. Satan would like us to think we are the
only ones dealing with troubles. But
that’s not true. Other believers endure
the same things we do – and God is helping us all.
Peter’s final word of encouragement to us is to expect God’s
help in bringing all difficulties to an end.
And the God of all grace, who
called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little
while, will restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power forever and ever. Amen.
There are a couple of things we should briefly note here. One is the reminder of who we are: those who have been called to eternal glory in Christ. This is our identity. We are God’s children. He called us and chose us to be His own. And this is His promise to us: Because of Jesus Christ and what He did for us we look forward to eternal glory. That’s not a hope or a wish or a dream. That’s a reality. And it’s backed up by Him who has power forever and ever.
Secondly, whatever we are asked to endure on this earth has
a limited shelf life. Our difficulties
and the things that often cause us to become discouraged will last only a little while – meaning a lifetime at
the most. And even a lifetime, which may
seem like a long time to us, is but a drop in the bucket of eternity. The day will come – maybe on earth, maybe in
heaven – when God will restore us and
make us strong, firm and steadfast.
You want a practical application of what this means to the life of a believer? I remember well sharing this portion of Scripture with a woman who was dying of cancer. She was a devout child of God, and as is so often the case, as her body became weaker, her faith became stronger. In the many conversations we had before the Lord called her home, this was one of the promises she clung to the tightest: That after she had suffered a little while – and then she would say “a lifetime at the most” – God himself would restore her and make her strong, firm and steadfast. And that is exactly what God did for her.
And that is exactly what God will do for each of us.
The bottom line: The God who loves us and redeemed us promises to be there to help us through the rough spots in life. There are scores of passages that give us the assurance of His abiding presence in our lives. So Peter’s third and final word of encouragement to us is this: Expect God’s help because He’s promised it.
We began this sermon by recalling the depth of a mother’s capacity for love and encouragement toward her children. Great as that is, God’s is surpassingly greater…
Therefore, may the loving encouragement we have received
today – the encouragement to always trust God and see everything in the loving
shadow of the cross, the encouragement to resist Satan’s attempts to make us
doubt God’s love, and the encouragement to expect the help and relief that God
Himself has promised us – give us peace and strength as we continue our journey
home. Amen.