DEVOTION – DAY 445

1 Peter 5:6-7 “God Is Faithful”

1 Peter 5:6-7 “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.”

There are times in our lives when we face trials, challenges and sufferings. This was the case for Christians in the 1st century AD. Thus, the apostle Peter, wrote the letter 1 Peter to encourage Christians to remain firm in their faith despites trials and persecutions of various kinds. In these verses, Peter told Christians to put their faith and trust in God’s mighty hand and God will help them in just the right time. Instead of worrying about things that are beyond their control, Peter told Christians to surrender their worries to the Lord. He will take care of them because the Lord cares for them. These verses offer much needed reassurance for those facing trials, persecutions and challenges of various kinds.

We knew someone who suffered from a severe form of eczema. It was so bad that she could not rest properly and she was in great discomfort. Doctors could not do much to ease the breakouts on her skin. It affected her morale and her own self-esteem. It also affected her studies. She was going to sit for her IGCSE exams but she found it hard to focus on her studies and preparations for her coming exams. She could only pray for God to help her. Her parents also prayed for her. Other church members who knew of her situation also prayed for her.

Her condition did not improve at first. She continued to pray and trust in the Lord. There was nothing else she or anyone could do at that stage. Slowly, her eczema started to subside. It no longer spread across her body. She was able to sleep without interruptions and that gave her much needed rest. She was able to catch up on some of her studies. By the time of her IGCSE exams, although she was not as well prepared as she would have liked it to be, she told the Lord that she would do her best, and trust that He would be merciful and let her have some reasonable grades. By the time her exams were over, she had almost recovered from her eczema condition. She could only thank the Lord for His faithfulness and His Mighty hand over her. When her IGCSE results were released, she and her parents were overjoyed because she had 8 A’s. This was an unexpected bonus and again, she could only thank God for how faithful He had been to her in her time of need. 

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, you are Almighty, gracious and merciful. Thank you for loving and caring for us. Thank you for coming to help us in our time of need. Please help us to always trust in you and to humble ourselves before you and turn to you in our times of need. We humbly pray in the mighty name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Questions

  1. What trials, problems, persecutions, or challenges are you facing?
  2. How have you been trying to solve these issues? How will you humble yourself and instead cast your anxieties on the Lord and trust in His help for you in due time?
  3. Why is it important to humble yourself and trust in the Lord and not on your own resources? Discuss.