17^th June

“So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time He will lift you up in honour. Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.”

1 Peter 5:6-7

Have you ever had the experience of thinking that you are on your own? That you have to handle life’s problems on your own? That nobody else understands what you are going through? If we are honest with ourselves then probably all of us have experienced these kind of thoughts before. The truth is, this kind of thinking is completely false. We are never on our own and never have to face “life” on our own. God is not only always with us but He truly cares about each of our worries and pains.

As we discussed yesterday, we can often get despondent about doing the right thing and not always seeing the fruit that that bears. Yet we’re encouraged that at the right time, we will harvest what we have sown if we do not give up. Today’s passage further highlights the struggle between doing good and being humble and not thinking that we are living in vain when we fight for justice or when doing good.

The motivation is the same. To being glory to Jesus in our actions, lifestyles and decisions. That means that even if we have to make decisions in our lives that might seem unfair for us, might be painful and might segregate us from the “in” crowds, if it is for the glory of God, then we need to humbly do it with grace and joy. The reward is that God will lift us up. In truth, God’s elevation is far greater than man’s empty praise (even with the right intentions).

We can also encourage ourselves, that when we feel like we are on our own, we are not: God is always there. It is God who gives us the strength to be humble and to keep fighting for goodness. It is God who carries us when our strength is spent. It is God who holds all of our problems in His hands. Why? Because He cares for us. Let us be encouraged that we are not on our own and our good deeds are not in vain.