He Cares for You
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time, having cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares about you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. So resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brothers and sisters who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
1 Peter 5:6-10
Our world is a beautiful and wonderful place, filled with all kinds of amazing gifts and blessings from God. Think about a beautiful sunset, a breath-taking waterfall, or the stars in the night sky. Think about all the amazing animals in the world, or all the different, and delicious, kinds of food. God has even created for us other people to love and bond with! The birth of a new child brings us great delight, as does a simple meal out with good friends.
While we so deeply appreciate the good that God designed into the world, there can be no doubt that this fallen and sinful world is filled with an overwhelming amount of suffering. Parents bury their children. Some children grow up without a parent because of abandonment or death. Husbands and wives suffer from the pain of being separated by death. We experience painful, broken relationships with people we love in this life, and while some loved ones may not be gone, they are completely absent from our lives. Some people suffer from overwhelming physical and mental issues, while others suffer from abuse, violence, and the like. Some people struggle to make ends meet, and others don’t even know where their next meal is coming from. The list just goes on and on.
When considering all this suffering, how do we respond as followers of Jesus?
Peter notes that the first step is to humble ourselves before God almighty. We must first acknowledge that God is all knowing, and that He is far greater than us; we must submit to His will even as Jesus submitted in the Garden. When we fail to do this, we risk becoming prideful, and give Satan the opportunity to destroy the hope we have in Jesus, as He tries to convince us that our Heavenly Father does not love us. (If you ever feel this way by the way, you just need to look at the Cross to be reminded of Christ’s sacrifice for us)
Once we humble ourselves, we understand our complete and utter dependence on God. People will scoff and say that humility makes us weak, and that we need only rely on ourselves. But the reality is that even the very air we breathe is given to us by God. We must realize that anything less than total dependence on God is an illusion.
Now, when we embrace this truth, it becomes easier to, as Peter insists, ‘cast our cares on Him (our God) who cares for us.’ You are not big enough to carry the burden for all the worlds suffering, or even all of your own suffering, but your Heavenly Father is. Go to him in prayer and share your heart with him. Give those things that are too big for you to carry over to God.
Be reminded of Peter’s statement that says: “Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. So resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brothers and sisters who are in the world.” Sometimes we feel like no one understands our suffering, but Peter reminds us that this is not true. You have many brothers and sisters in Christ who have also gone through suffering and can walk alongside as you weather the storms of life. If you are not in a small group or a bible study, I want to encourage you to do so, so that you can start to form strong relationships with fellow believers.
At my wife Colleen’s funeral, I had several close brothers and sisters in Christ there for me and for my daughters, many who knew and understood suffering as they, themselves, had walked through it. Leaning on each other is not weak as the world supposes it, but it is part of Gods plan.
I love the ending Peter gives us:
“After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”
The lord uses our suffering to perfect us into the image of Jesus. As part of this difficult process, be reminded that he is faithful and will strengthen you in the storm; he will confirm and establish you as one of his own. I can think of no greater blessing than slowly, day by day, and year by year, becoming more and more like Jesus.
Blessings to you and your family, and if you are in the storm right now, may you cast your cares on your Heavenly Father who loves you beyond measure, who is faithful to walk beside you in the storm, and who deeply cares about your suffering. Take comfort in knowing that he never wastes any of our suffering in this life.
With Love and affection, Your fellow Brother in Christ,
Eric Vanover