1 Peter 5

Pause:

Before you start reading this devotional, take a moment to stop what you’re doing, slow down and focus on Jesus. 

Pray and ask him to open your eyes to see as you read the scriptures, and to open your ears to hear as you wait on the leading of the Spirit.

Read:

1 Peter 5v1-13: “To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

5 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 shows favor to the humble.”

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Final Greetings

12 With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it.

13 She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark. 14 Greet one another with a kiss of love.

Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

Going Deeper:

In 1 Peter we read the letter that Peter writes to the 1st Century followers of Jesus, who at the time found themselves scattered all over Asia Minor due to the persecution that had broken out against them. They were living through a season of great uncertainty where their livelihoods, as well as their literal lives, were at risk. The audience Peter is addressing has many things to fear, worry and care about.

It’s into this context that Peter gives them this charge: “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” – 1 Peter 5v7.

As Followers of Jesus living in the 21st Century we, too, find ourselves scattered across our cities as we remain locked down in our homes because of Covid-19, living in uncertain times, facing threats to our livelihoods, and for some of us our very lives. Peter finds himself once again, through this letter, addressing an audience that has many things to fear, worry and care about.

His charge remains the same: “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

Cast all your anxiety on him. 

That is the invitation this verse extends to us and although this may sound simple enough, and even appealing to us, it’s the very thing we often find the hardest to do.  

We find it hard because sometimes we don’t want to let go of our worries; we like to be in control of them, independent and self-sufficient. Letting go is not something that always comes naturally to us. We often prefer to make our own plans in an attempt to hold things together for ourselves, trusting in our own abilities and resources to make a way out of the mess we find ourselves in. We often lean towards control because losing control of our lives is the very thing we fear the most. 

The Oxford Dictionary defines anxiety as “a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease about something with an uncertain outcome”.  Anxiety is the activity of focusing on tomorrow, replaying different outcomes over and over again in our minds, trying to work out a way to gain control back, because control makes us feel safe and gives us the illusion of security in a world that often scares us. 

As we contemplate this season, we are not offered much hope in this strategy. If anything, the Coronavirus has only heightened our awareness of how little control we truly have over our lives, situations and circumstances, and of just how uncertain the outcomes of these are. 

Peter instead calls us to choose a better way, one where we let go of our fears to cast them on Jesus, surrendering control over our lives, becoming fully dependent on God, as we turn to him, putting our faith and trust in him. 

He also gives us an incredible reason to do this: “because he cares for you”.

Do we know this to be true? Do we believe that God cares deeply about us? That he is with us? That he understands and empathizes with us? That he has compassion on us and invites us to come to him for help in our moments of suffering and pain? And that he promises to one day put an end to all suffering, of any kind, once and for all?

It’s interesting that Peter follows this charge with a warning: “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings” - 1 Peter 5v8-9.

Peter knows that when people experience pain and suffering, they are more inclined to believe the lies that the Devil whispers into their ears about God. Peter is aware that in our moments of weakness, the Devil comes to sow seeds of doubt into our hearts, trying to convince us that God does not care about us, that he does not listen to our cries for help, that his character cannot be trusted and that he has neither the inclination nor the power to help us in our time of need. That his aim is to get us to turn away from God, trusting in ourselves rather than depending on him, with the final intention of destroying our relationship with him.

How then can we practically cast our anxieties on God as we face this pandemic? How can we be alert and sober-minded, resisting the Devil’s lies, standing firm in our faith, putting our trust in the God who cares for us?

We Can Use our Anxieties as an Alarm Clock

Every time we find ourselves experiencing anxiety, or overwhelmed with fear and worry for our future, we can use it as a reminder to us to pray. In prayer, we create the space and time to seek God, actively putting our trust in him, depending on him. Prayer is powerful not only because it changes situations and circumstances, but because it changes us and reveals the person of Jesus to us. It’s in prayer that we draw near to God, who is always present with us, finding comfort and peace in him.

Philippians 4v6-7: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

We Can Speak to our Hearts, As Opposed to Listening to Them

In Jeremiah 17v9 we are warned that “the heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure”. 

In times of trials and suffering we need to be  particularly careful of what our heart is “saying to us”, or in other words, of what we are saying to ourselves, because the heart is deceitful and has the tendency to lead us astray. 

Every day we have multiple conversations, or "heart-to-hearts" with ourselves. What are we saying to ourselves in those conversations?

We need to learn to speak the truth to our hearts just like we see David doing in the Psalms:  “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Saviour and my God” (Psalm 43v5).

In order to speak the truth to our hearts we need to know the truth. We can know the truth by spending time in God’s word. By studying it, meditating on it and memorizing it. When the Devil comes to tempt us into believing lies about God, we can use God’s word as a weapon against him, to resist him and to stand firm in our faith, just like we see Jesus doing in the desert when he is tempted by the Devil in Matthew 4.

Through Scripture we are reminded that God cares for us deeply, and that we can trust him with our lives by casting our fears onto him.

Pray:

Respond to God in prayer by speaking to Him about what stood out to your from this passage this morning.

Listen:

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you right now?

Apply:

What are you going to do in response to what God is saying to you from the text and by the Spirit?

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1 Peter 4