I Peter 5:6-11

6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. 11 To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

          A man and his wife had carved out a pretty comfortable life for themselves.  They both had career jobs that paid them in the 6-figure range.  They lived in a nice house and drove nice cars.  Their children were on their own and also doing well.  They seemed like the farmer in Jesus’ parable who had such large crops that he was ready to “eat, drink, and be merry” for the rest of his life.
          The only problem was that they were not happy.  While it seemed as if they had done everything to secure a life of comfort and were ready to enjoy the fruits of their labors, they were haunted by the fear of losing everything that they had worked so hard to achieve and acquire.
          What they had built their lives around suddenly didn’t seem so safe and secure.  They dreaded a phone call or a medical diagnosis or an unexpected conversation that could change their lives in an instant.  This nagging fear wore on them and deprived them of the true peace and security that they were looking for.
          The pressures of everyday life in a broken world can take their toll on anyone.  Anxiety is a hot topic today, and people are looking for ways to reduce their anxiety and stress levels.  Today God speaks to us through Peter’s epistle and shares with us…
 

“God’s Divine Cure for Anxiety”
 
I.  Anxiety can tear you down
II.  God will build you up

 
          This section begins with a command from God.  Peter wrote, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.”  Humility is not a character trait that is found naturally in very many people.  We are tempted to rely on our own abilities to achieve our goals and overcome our obstacles.  This often leaves us weary and worn out and filled with anxiety and stress.  We feel that if we aren’t strong enough or don’t stay alert enough or don’t keep everything in place then bad things will happen to us and our loved ones.
          That’s a lot of stress to carry around.  It can wear on a person and take away their joy in life.  God’s advice is to stop trying to do it alone, stop trying to be Superman or Wonder Woman.  “Humble yourselves … so that he may lift you up in due time.”  When we finally concede and admit that we can’t do everything, we hear God’s gracious invitation, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
          Our Lord quickly explains why this is so necessary for us.  He warned, “Be self-controlled and alert.  Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”  We often picture the devil as sneaking up on us quietly, pouncing on us when we least expect him.  He does that at times.  But at other times he is more like a “roaring lion” who bullies us and overpowers us.  Anxiety is one of the tools that he uses to do that.
          Abraham felt that attack from the devil shortly after he moved to Canaan.  A famine in the land forced him to go to Egypt.  He was afraid that the wicked Pharoah would see his wife, Sarah, and want her for himself.  In order to make that happen, he would simply kill Abraham.  Under the stress of that situation, he came up with a surprising plan.  “Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.” (Gen. 12:13) Filled with anxiety about his own safety, Abraham made some very poor choices.  Later, in a similar situation, he did it again! (Gen. 20)
          The devil will come to us as a “roaring lion” and intimidate us with his threats and temptations.  One commentator noted, “Similarly the devil uses all forms of evil and temptation in an attempt to reduce Christians to a state of helpless terror or to weaken them, so they are easy prey for his attack.”  Under the mounting pressures of life, we begin to wonder if we are strong enough, smart enough, aware enough, and capable of doing what we need to do.  The pressure mounts and the anxiety builds to the point where we may fall to the devil’s attacks and choose sinful solutions to ease our anxiety.
          The devil knows he has us in a corner if he can get us to rely on our own abilities to meet our daily needs and achieve our life’s goals.  He will wear us down and then pounce on us when we are most vulnerable.
          That is where our Lord tells us to, “Cast all your anxiety on him.”  Like a tag team wrestler, we can step aside and let God fight the battle against the devil for us.  When you are aware of the stress and anxiety in your life, be just as aware of the power that is at your fingertips in the invitation that God has given to you.  The “Maker of heaven and earth” who was willing to sacrifice his own Son will do everything necessary to protect you.  He will provide the peace that you need in your life and build you up to face your challenges.
 

II.  God will build you up

 
          When the devil tries to wear us down with the cares and concerns of life, our Lord says, “Resist him, standing firm in the faith.”  James takes this promise one step further when he writes, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (4:7) That is what Jesus did when he was tempted for 40 days in the wilderness.  Each time that the devil came to him with a suggestion about how he could make his life easier and relieve himself of the anxiety in his life, Jesus resisted by turning to God’s powerful Word.  No matter how convincing the “roaring lion” sounded, Jesus responded with “It is written.”  That powerful Word protected him, and finally the devil crawled away defeated.
          Our faith is the key to our victory over the devil.  Having humbled ourselves and admitted that we can’t win the battle on our own, we cling to the promises of faith.  Faith in our God connects us to the most powerful being in the universe.  Faith links us to the one who soundly defeated the devil by means of a cross.  Martin Luther now assures us that “one little word can fell him.”
          Our Lord also comforts us with the report that “your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”  We are not the only ones that are under the devil’s attacks.  We are not the only ones who are experiencing stress and anxiety.  We are not the only ones who need the Lord’s help to guide us through these attacks.  The good news is that our Lord is everywhere and he is almighty.
          This is the assurance that he gives us, “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.”  While none of us are exempt from the daily grind of life, none of us are excluded from God’s gracious promise either.  Our bodies will break down.  Our minds may begin to slip and fade.  Sin will still bring sorrow and pain.  Buth through it all, “…the God of all grace will…make you strong, firm, and steadfast.”
          We can rely on this promise 100% because God has called us to faith.  He didn’t do that based on a contract that we signed with him or an agreement that we made in which we needed to keep our end of the bargain.  He did it as “the God of all grace.”  Grace is God’s undeserved love which he chose to give to us completely on his own.  He made us his children and accepted all of the responsibilities that go along with being our Father.  Jesus once said, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” (Mt. 7:11) Included in those “good things” is the strength to endure our anxieties and the stresses that we have in our lives.  The commentator again noted, “We have something solid to hang on to.  The God of all grace and power will guide us safely through to eternal glory.”
          For all that he does, and will do, for us, God surely deserves our praise.  Peter noted that as he closed this text with these words, “To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.”  As we acknowledge the power of God, we are humbling ourselves.  We are “deferring” to his almighty power and trusting his love for us.  When we do that, the victory is assured and God will prevail.  We are in the loving and powerful hands of God.  That’s not a bad place to be!  Amen.