In the New Testament, Peter encourages Believers to humble themselves under the mighty hand of God. It’s his way of telling them not to forget where they came from…and how they got where they were. Don’t forget that it was God who brought you through trouble into triumph. It was God who carried you in the midst of adversity to your shining moment of ultimate success.
Humble yourself, because if you are going through hell today, you don’t have to ride the wings of the storm alone. There is One who is watching, whose hand is upon you every step of the way. There is One who has a divine plan for you, one that you might not see, but one that no one else can fulfill. Be humble and allow Him to show you great and mighty things in your life. You were not created to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. You were created to walk in tandem, in a life of service to the King.
Don’t ever forget how good God has been in your life. He has protected and provided for you. Don’t forget what He did to your enemies. And when you think about how great God has been, recognize that it is His grace, His mercy, His power that has made your life what it is today. For every good and perfect gift comes from above (James 1:17). When you do this, you put praise, honor, and glory exactly where it belongs…at the feet of Jesus. When you start taking personal credit for the great things God has done; you take His glory and place it on yourself.
When you humble yourself, you are able to remember where your blessings come from…knowing that in due season He may exalt you (1 Peter 5:6).
Keeping in mind that the Lord resists the proud (1 Peter 5:5).
Have you ever considered what God is doing in your life right now? Of course, nothing happens by accident. To everything under the sun, there is a divinely orchestrated purpose. You might not know today exactly what the purpose is for your struggle but know that God wants you to be blessed in all things. He wants you to have the very best…HIS very best, which far outweighs anything our mortal minds can imagine.
Consider this… Today’s heartache, struggle or absolute tragedy might be setting you up for total victory. Once you’re in a position to achieve God’s will for your life, He can exalt you over whatever you’re facing into a position of total success. For with God, there is no second best. Everything is complete in our Savior. He is not going to take us to second base. We are going to get the home run, the total victory through Jesus Christ!
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 tells us, “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”
We have talked about what the Lord HAS done, what the Lord IS doing… but what is He going to do in the future? Church, soon and very soon, the mighty hand of God is going to gather the righteous from every corner of the world. In the twinkling of an eye, we are going to escape judgment.
We are going to leave this world behind as we sail through the air to be reunited with our loved ones and to be with the Lord for all of eternity (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
This is the promise of promises, the hope that we have as Believers. It is our shout of pure, unadulterated joy! Our Savior, our Redeemer is coming back to take us home…and then, the Bible tells us that we will see Him face to face.
Paul is writing in this passage to the Thessalonians because he wants to make them aware of the promise that will be fulfilled for all Believers in the future. The first century was no cakewalk for Christians, that’s for sure. They were being martyred, soaked in oily rags to light the rose garden, and led into coliseums to be fed to hungry lions. Comparatively speaking, I think we have it pretty easy today. Wouldn’t you say?
But Revelation 12:11 tells us “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”
