Giving Up

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." (1 Peter 5:6-7)

These are fairly familiar verses to many of us, and I've read them numerous times before. I've even preached on them many, many times (or at least used them to prove a point in a sermon!). What I don't recall paying attention to before in these verses, these words of wisdom from the first apostle, is who does what.

What does Peter call us to do? He says we should do two things: first, humble ourselves and second, cast all our anxiety on God. Humble ourselves means we make ourselves lesser. We take on the attitude that John the Baptist had when he was speaking of his relative Jesus: "He must become greater; I must become less" (John 3:30). Humility is a hard thing to grasp because once we think we have it, we've probably lost it. Nevertheless, humbling ourselves is a matter of perspective. It's when we get ahold of the truth that Jesus matters more than I do.

Then, Peter says, we should cast all our anxiety on God. To cast is to throw away. When we cast something, we throw it far enough away that we can't get it back. Picture throwing something into a deep hole, or into a far field, or into an ocean. Peter calls us to throw away our anxiety; give it to God and don't plan on getting it back. As someone who worries too much, I know that's a hard concept to grasp. What could life be like if I really did this? What if I really threw it away without tying a string onto it and dragging it back into my life?

Humble. Cast. What has struck me recently is that both of these actions are ones of relinquishment. They are both actions of giving up. They are not actions to make ourselves look better, seem better or to impress God. They are acts of letting go. We give up so God can act. If we don't give up, we tie God's hands. He will act when we give up.

And what will God do? Peter tells us that as well. When we humble ourselves, he will lift us up (he will put us in the right place in relation to creation). When we give him our cares, he will care for us. When we relinquish our control, God will do everything for us we thought we could do for ourselves, and in fact he will do it better...because he's God!