Sue J Love
Loyal
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
- 5,309
1 Peter 5:5-9 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)
“5.. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because ‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ 6Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, so that in due time He may exalt you. 7Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
“8Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9Resist him, standing firm in your faith and in the knowledge that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.”
Humbling Ourselves
What does it look like to be humble? It means to be meek, unpretentious, and modest, i.e. the opposite of proud and boastful. Biblical humility involves a total surrender to God, submission to his will and purpose for our lives, and obedience to his commands, giving all the glory to God. It is willingness to do the will of God, and to speak his truths, regardless of how we are treated in return. And it is being honest with ourselves about who we are with regard to our motives and why we do and say the things we do and say.
So, if we humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand, what should that look like? It definitely involves us submitting ourselves to the will of God for our lives, going where he sends us and saying all that he commands. It involves us sticking our necks out on the line, willing to have them chopped down, i.e. to be the Lord’s servants and messengers even knowing in advance that it will mean being hated, rejected, falsely accused, forsaken, and forgotten by some (or many) for speaking the truth, which many do not want to hear.
And it is putting our lives in the hands of God, trusting him to work it all out for good, trusting that God knows best, and he has a plan and a purpose for all that he allows us to go through, for his glory. It is a willingness to walk away from some situations, even if it means that they are left unresolved, or that others are left with a wrong impression of our motives, or knowing that they are thinking ill of us. We can defend our own honor, to a point, as did Jesus and his apostles, but sometimes we just have to walk away.
The Devil Seeks to Devour
If you are someone who writes on the internet, and who shares with the world what the Lord is teaching you from his word each day, you may get some responses from other humans which are encouraging, and/or you may get some responses from others which are challenging you, or which are criticizing you, or which are falsely accusing you of what you did not do or say. And some of them may be AI, and not real humans, and some may be people who just like baiting others into an argument. You get all kinds.
So we need to pray for wisdom and discernment to know what discussions we can engage in, and which ones to avoid. We need discernment to know when someone is baiting us into an argument so that we don’t get trapped in it. And we need wisdom to know how to respond, what to say, what not to say, and when to walk away. But we also need wisdom to discern when a conversation is of the devil, i.e. when he is using someone else to try to “devour” us in order to trip us up with our words. So we must resist him.
We must resist him, standing firm in our faith. So we must respond to the lies with the truth. We must respond to false teachings with the truth of what the Scriptures teach. But we must rely on the leading of the Holy Spirit in what to say and in what to write, and not let our emotions get the best of us. And this is not saying that we will get this perfect every time, but that we must make it our practice to pray, and to inquire of the Lord, before we respond unwisely and the devil ends up “getting the best of us.”
But we can be encouraged that we are not alone in this battle, not that we wish any of this on anyone else, but sometimes knowing that you are not alone, and that others are facing the same difficulties, it helps you in standing strong (firm) in your faith and not backing down because you are being intimidated by someone else. So we need to pray for wisdom before we just open up our mouths and blurt out what is coming from our emotions. And we must stand firm in our faith at all times, by God’s grace.
God Gives Grace to The Humble
An Original Work / July 16, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
“5.. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because ‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ 6Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, so that in due time He may exalt you. 7Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
“8Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9Resist him, standing firm in your faith and in the knowledge that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.”
Humbling Ourselves
What does it look like to be humble? It means to be meek, unpretentious, and modest, i.e. the opposite of proud and boastful. Biblical humility involves a total surrender to God, submission to his will and purpose for our lives, and obedience to his commands, giving all the glory to God. It is willingness to do the will of God, and to speak his truths, regardless of how we are treated in return. And it is being honest with ourselves about who we are with regard to our motives and why we do and say the things we do and say.
So, if we humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand, what should that look like? It definitely involves us submitting ourselves to the will of God for our lives, going where he sends us and saying all that he commands. It involves us sticking our necks out on the line, willing to have them chopped down, i.e. to be the Lord’s servants and messengers even knowing in advance that it will mean being hated, rejected, falsely accused, forsaken, and forgotten by some (or many) for speaking the truth, which many do not want to hear.
And it is putting our lives in the hands of God, trusting him to work it all out for good, trusting that God knows best, and he has a plan and a purpose for all that he allows us to go through, for his glory. It is a willingness to walk away from some situations, even if it means that they are left unresolved, or that others are left with a wrong impression of our motives, or knowing that they are thinking ill of us. We can defend our own honor, to a point, as did Jesus and his apostles, but sometimes we just have to walk away.
The Devil Seeks to Devour
If you are someone who writes on the internet, and who shares with the world what the Lord is teaching you from his word each day, you may get some responses from other humans which are encouraging, and/or you may get some responses from others which are challenging you, or which are criticizing you, or which are falsely accusing you of what you did not do or say. And some of them may be AI, and not real humans, and some may be people who just like baiting others into an argument. You get all kinds.
So we need to pray for wisdom and discernment to know what discussions we can engage in, and which ones to avoid. We need discernment to know when someone is baiting us into an argument so that we don’t get trapped in it. And we need wisdom to know how to respond, what to say, what not to say, and when to walk away. But we also need wisdom to discern when a conversation is of the devil, i.e. when he is using someone else to try to “devour” us in order to trip us up with our words. So we must resist him.
We must resist him, standing firm in our faith. So we must respond to the lies with the truth. We must respond to false teachings with the truth of what the Scriptures teach. But we must rely on the leading of the Holy Spirit in what to say and in what to write, and not let our emotions get the best of us. And this is not saying that we will get this perfect every time, but that we must make it our practice to pray, and to inquire of the Lord, before we respond unwisely and the devil ends up “getting the best of us.”
But we can be encouraged that we are not alone in this battle, not that we wish any of this on anyone else, but sometimes knowing that you are not alone, and that others are facing the same difficulties, it helps you in standing strong (firm) in your faith and not backing down because you are being intimidated by someone else. So we need to pray for wisdom before we just open up our mouths and blurt out what is coming from our emotions. And we must stand firm in our faith at all times, by God’s grace.
God Gives Grace to The Humble
An Original Work / July 16, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
