Author: Kristen Kansiewicz, LMHC

“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.”

We usually find 1 Peter 5:7 quoted by itself, and often misused as a way to shame people who are struggling with anxiety. Put into its context with the very next verse, I find it to take on an interesting meaning. “Give your worries to God” and “watch out!” seem like opposite messages. I thought I was supposed to let go of my burdens, and yet watching out for a lion about to devour me feels a bit worrisome. This is why sometimes quoting individual verses can make Christians feel as if there is a delicate emotional balance they are supposed to maintain — don’t worry, but watch your back all at the same time.

Taken together, these verses provide more clarity on how we are to live the Christian life. I read the whole passage as an encouragement: “Don’t worry about any of the earthly stuff. God’s got that. You can stand up and fight the enemy along with the whole family of believers!” I connect with a positive voice cheering me on, rather than a sense of warning. Getting caught up in our earthly cares is simply a distraction — the real battle we are called to focus on is a spiritual one.

Here’s your freedom for today: faith gives you victory in the spiritual war. When you see with your faith-filled, spiritual eyes you can see that what car you drive or how many outfits you have does not matter at all. As Paul said, he learned to live with a little and live with a lot. His material standing did not matter in the spiritual life he was living. Faith connects us with Jesus and with a family of believers. Faith brings us into a world that is happening beyond the visible. Take your eyes off the visible today and let your spiritual eyes take over. What do you see?

“In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor.”

Some of us have authority issues. Maybe it is because we have experienced poor models of authority, or perhaps some of us have been directly harmed by people in authority over us. Humility might not be so bad with friends or when serving your neighbor, but when someone starts telling you what to do? Being a humble follower is a difficult challenge.

Peter quotes Proverbs 3:34 here, and it’s worth reading the entire chapter. God and prideful people are not on the same team. His grace, the very power of the Gospel, is for the people who consider themselves at the bottom. When we studied Luke, we saw over and over again that the people who had issues with Jesus were the ones that wanted to be in charge. The people who were social outcasts with nothing to lose absolutely loved him.

Here’s your freedom for today: God’s view of you is higher than your view of yourself. Pride is a lie, actually rooted in insecurity and self-absorption. It is an anxious and fearful view of ourselves that postures us to be “better” than others. If we were secure in our identities, we would not have any need to compare ourselves to anyone else at all. God is ready to lift you up and honor you at the right time. You lifting yourself up in pride requires you to step on someone else to get there. God raises you up as a part of his body of believers to the highest place: a seat right next to Jesus.

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“And now, a word to you who are elders in the churches. I, too, am an elder and a witness to the sufferings of Christ. And I, too, will share in his glory when he is revealed to the whole world. As a fellow elder, I appeal to you: Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor.”

My husband is a pastor, and one time (last week) he thought it would be a great idea to have a real live sheep wandering the auditorium while he preached his sermon related to these verses. By God’s sovereign grace, no live sheep were available for this illustration. But his efforts to obtain one made for a great sermon opener.

Sheep are messed up, confused, dirty creatures. And more than any other comparison in the Bible, we followers of Jesus are compared to sheep. The funny thing is, a shepherd actually likes sheep. A disgruntled shepherd would have a pretty lonely, boring, smelly life. If you don’t like sheep, don’t be a shepherd. But if you can tolerate the mess, shepherding God’s “flock” comes with eternal rewards. My husband and I often joke about our amazing “retirement benefits.”

Here’s your freedom for today: serving God is an honor. Sure, we can care for others because we have to, or because we want them to do them same for us. We can be begrudging shepherds. Or we can receive the anointing of the Holy Spirit given to leaders in his kingdom, and recognize that the lowliest places here on earth are the most highly exalted in heaven. Stepping into God’s calling on your life is perhaps the greatest eternal privilege. Whatever mission God has you on today, live it out fully with a grateful heart.

“If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you. If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs. But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name! For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News? And also, ‘If the righteous are barely saved, what will happen to godless sinners?’ So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.”

Peter is returning to the theme we have found throughout this letter about two kinds of suffering. Sometimes we suffer because we do the right thing, and sometimes we suffer because we don’t. Proverbs 11, quoted here by Peter, provides a similar contrast between the ways of the good and the evil. We live in divisive time, when the war between good or evil is only increasing in intensity. We do not have the luxury to keep one foot in each world — we have to decide which way to fight.

If you are fighting the spiritual war on Jesus’ side, then press on into deeper faith, greater hope, and more perfect love. Trust him with your whole life — he’s not going to let you down. You are not fighting any battle in vein, and you have the Lord of Heaven’s Armies fighting with and behind you. It is his war, not yours. Although everything screams the opposite at us, the reality is that the world does not revolve around you. Or me. We orbit in worship around the one true king: Jesus.

Here’s your freedom for today: the God who made you does not fail. Nations rise and fall, money comes and goes, people let you down. But our King does not give up, and he will prevail. Staying as close to him as possible is the surest way to victory. Every stray step can leave us in danger. For this reason, we must dwell in his presence as much as our feeble minds can manage. Cling to him like you never have before — do it his way and you’ll find victory.

“Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.”

I have to be honest, I am genuinely surprised by fiery trials. Perhaps it is a product of having lived a very blessed life, but things going wrong really throw me off. I have always seen faith and hope as a kind of spiritual optimism, and I carry this into every situation. If I were Paul or Peter, I would definitely be scratching my head wondering how prison or torture could possibly be part of God’s plan. Things seemingly going awry feels strange to me.

Peter offers an alternative here, which we covered when we studied the book of James: be glad. Not just plain old glad. Very glad. Trials make us partners with Jesus in his suffering. That may not sound too appealing until we keep reading: we also get to share in his glory. If we aren’t part of the building of the kingdom of God, we won’t be there to enjoy the fruits of that labor. We have a chance at something eternally valuable, and keeping this perspective brings gladness to our hearts.

Here’s your freedom for today: living for Jesus won’t disappoint. Perhaps you are struggling with disappointment right now. Maybe you are going through the fire in a way you never have before. Perseverance happens when our eyes stay fixed on the long game. When we grow in this perseverance, we mature and can make it through even when the fire gets turned up to full blast. Lots of people don’t make it. Spiritual war unfortunately involves casualties. Stay in the fight and stay connected to those who are able to fight alongside you. Victory is coming, no matter what.