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1 Peter 5:5-7 - Humility; Avenue of Grace.

1 Peter 5:5-7 (NKJV) Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

INTRODUCTION

   Both young and old can benefit from Peter's instructions. Pride often keeps older people from trying to understand young people and keeps young people from listening to those who are older. Peter told both young and old to be humble and to serve each other. Respect those who are older than you, listen to those younger than you, and be humble enough to admit that you can learn from others.
   We often worry about position and status, hoping to get proper recognition for what we do. But Peter advises us to remember that God's recognition counts more than human praise. God is able and willing to bless us according to his timing. Humbly obey God regardless of your present circumstances, and in his good time - either in this life or in the next - he will honor you.
   Carrying our worries, stresses, and daily struggles by ourselves shows that we have not trusted God fully with our lives. Humility is needed, however, to recognize that God cares, to admit our needs, and to let others in God's family help us. Sometimes we think that struggles caused by our own sin and foolishness are not God's concern. But when we turn to God in repentance, he will bear the weight even of those struggles. Letting God carry our anxieties calls for action, not passivity. Don't submit to circumstances; submit to the Lord, who controls circumstances. [Life Application SB 2019]

COMMENTARY PEARL

Lifting Power
   An Amazing Fact: Among the fastest of all insects, dragonflies have been clocked at more than 25 miles per hour. Fossils also tell us that before the flood, some dragonflies had wingspans of about 30 inches. And they're strong too! About half of their body mass is devoted to flight muscles, and they have the ability to lift more than twice their bodyweight ... a feat that no manmade aircraft has ever come near!
   Dragonflies can also take off backwards, accelerate quickly, and then stop in an instant. They can also execute an un-banked turn as if on a pivot, summersault in the heat of combat, and fly virtually any maneuver using a nearly endless combination of four wings.
   Not only can the dragonfly out maneuver anything else with wings, it can also see better too! Its wrap-around compound eyes contain more than 30,000 lenses, providing a 360-degree field of view. In fact, a dragonfly can see a gnat three feet away, dart from his nest, seize and devour the prey, and then return to its perch all in about one second. The U.S. Air Force has even studied the amazing flight versatility of dragonflies in wind tunnels, hoping to uncover the secret of its incredible aerodynamic abilities.
   The Bible tells us that God can lift us up and care for us under any circumstance. "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time" (1 Peter 5:6 NIV). There is no situation too difficult, no trial too big, no problem too complex, that the Lord cannot carry you through it. God's angels surpass in strength and skill to anything you can imagine, including dragonflies. They quickly accelerate at our call and God's command to pick us up.
   But there is a secret to being lifted up. It is to first bow down in humility. Unless we acknowledge our helplessness, we cannot be open to receive the incredible help that the Lord is ready to provide. [Moving Mountains by Amazing Facts]

ONE LINER

Pride and self-esteem cannot flourish in the hearts that keep fresh in memory the scenes of Calvary. 2T212

LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY

1 Peter 5:5, 6 - Humility; Avenue of Grace.
https://www.abible.com/devotions/2023/20230417-0901.html
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2021/20210905-0921.html

James 4:6 - Grace Is Needed Now More Than Ever.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2020/20200616-1112.html

LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT

https://abible.com/links/