«　WEEK 6　DAY 5　»

　　1 Pet. 5:6-7 Therefore be humbled under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your anxiety on Him because it matters to Him concerning you.

　　The words be humbled in 1 Peter 5:6 are passive voice, indicating to be made humble by God, mostly through the sufferings of persecutions (v. 10). This, however, needs our cooperation with God’s operation. We must be willing to be made humble, lowly, under the mighty hand of God. Hence, be humbled. We may say that humbled is passive, but be is active. While God is acting to operate on us, we need to take the initiative to be operated on by Him. To take the initiative is active; to be operated on is passive. This is our willingness to be under the hand of God, which is mighty to do everything for us. (Life-study of 1 Peter, p. 299)

　　Persecution may be used by God to humble us. Actually, any kind of suffering may be used by God for this purpose. When good things happen to us, we may become proud. But suffering or persecution may help us to be humble. For example, a brother may be humbled as a result of losing his job. A student may be humbled by receiving a lower grade than he expected. If this student receives a high grade, he may be somewhat uplifted. But if he receives a lower grade, he may be humbled. We may also experience being humbled in our family life. If the children of a certain brother and sister are outstanding, the parents may become proud. But if the children cause them problems or difficulty, this will make the parents lowly. Likewise, if a young brother’s father has a very high position in his work, this brother may be proud. Suppose his father is the president of a corporation or the chancellor of a great university. Surely this brother would be proud of his father’s position. But suppose his father were a janitor with a very limited education. Knowing that his father had such a lowly position may cause this young brother to be lowly. He is humbled by the fact that his father does not have a high position.

　　The word casting in 1 Peter 5:7 means “throwing upon,” that is, committing to, giving up to. The verb denotes a once-for-all act. The words all your anxiety indicate that the whole lot of our anxiety throughout our entire life, our whole life with all its anxiety, should be cast on the Lord. We need to learn how to throw the burden of our anxiety upon God. It may now be on our own shoulder, but we should cast it from our shoulder to God.

　　Although the verb casting indicates a once-for-all act, because we are weak, we may need to cast our anxieties upon God again and again. Sometimes we cast our anxieties upon Him only to secretly take them back a while later. This has been my experience. I may cast my anxiety upon the Lord. But a few days later I may realize that I have taken this anxiety back upon myself, and therefore I need to pray, “O Lord, forgive me for taking this anxiety back from You. Once again, I would cast my anxieties upon You.” Sometimes I have said to the Lord, “Lord, I cast not only today’s anxiety upon You, but all the anxieties I expect to have in the future. Lord, I anticipate that much anxiety will be coming. All this coming anxiety I will now give to You.”

　　The Greek word for anxiety also means “worry” or “care.” In persecution the believers’ sufferings cause worry and anxiety to them. They need not only to be humbled, to be brought low from their pride, their haughtiness, but also to throw their life with its care upon God; for He is not only mighty and just, but also loving and faithful concerning them. The reason we may cast all our anxiety on the Lord is that “it matters to Him” concerning us. The words it matters to Him concerning you may also be rendered, “He cares for you.” The disciplining and judging God has a loving concern for the believers, especially the persecuted ones. He cares for them faithfully. They can cast their care upon Him, especially in their persecution. (Life-study of 1 Peter, pp. 299-302)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of 1 Peter, msg. 33