Humble Yourself Under God’s Mighty Hand
“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time.” I Peter 5:6
UNIVERSITY MESS UPS
In high school, I always did very well in math. After getting a good grade in my first semester in my university’s advanced Calculus class, I decided I didn’t need to study much. No problem, I thought, Why sweat? So, I did lots of other things I wanted to do and rarely studied.
My plan didn’t work out so great. I failed my next test. Not to worry, I cheerfully encouraged myself; I’ll ace the next three tests. I still hardly studied.
I confidently strode into my next exam. It was a bit tougher that I expected. Maybe with good effort, I’d do OK. No such luck. I failed again. That shook me up. To my chagrin I realized—bright fellow that I am—that I’d better start studying again. But I was already woefully behind. I had to totally immerse myself in Calculus—definitely not my favorite thing to do. But, I hardly knew where to begin.
The day after my second failed test, I determined that I’d study day and night until I caught up. There was no way I wanted to take that class a second time.
After a morning of classes, I slipped on my swimsuit to get a tan and crack the books on top of my twelve-story dorm with a friend named Lisa. (Studying is tough in So California. ☺) We spent hours on the roof trying to make sense out of a few pages of my textbook, but, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get it.
I grew so frustrated that I stormed over to the edge of the building to heave my Calculus book over the edge. Lisa grabbed my arm reminding me it might land on someone’s head! I reluctantly regained composure. We tried for two more torturous hours to make sense of just a few dreary pages, but neither of us could. Finally we said goodbye and I caught the elevator to my room.
A LESSON ABOUT LESSONS
Throwing open the door, I heaved my Calculus book hard against the wall. I never wanted to see it again. I slumped onto my bed, and moaned, “I can’t do it, I’m too far behind.” As I laid on my bed sulking in self-pity, the Lord graciously began to minister to me.
If I could put it into words this is what I “caught”, “My son, humble yourself under My hand by submitting to Me by studying when you ought to study. Don’t study from worry, or to please man, but in obedience to Me. I’m behind all things in your life. If you need to study, study. Study as a gift of love to Me.”
Wow. I never really thought of dedicating studying to God. I could do that. I couldn’t guarantee that I’d succeed, but I could do my prep in service to God.
As I thought about this, I realized that all my life I’d have tasks to do. Some tasks I’d like; others I might like to chuck to the wind like my Calculus. But, my job was to not despise these tasks of life. Rather, I could humble myself before God and say, “Yes, I will serve You in this—with cheerfulness. You can determine the outcome of my efforts.”(Col. 3:27, 24) I came to learn that God’s approach brings great peace.
God does tell us not to grumble (Philippians 2:14, 1 Corinthians 10:9, 10). I was not excited at all about digging out of the mess I got myself into with Calculus, but, with this new encouragement from the Lord, I gave up grumbling about it and it wasn’t nearly so difficult. I hit the books hard for a month and eventually pulled my grades up and passed the class.
But, of infinitely greater importance, I learned to humble myself under God’s mighty hand behind the mundane and the not-so-favorite circumstances of my life. I learned to dedicate every task to God and serve Him in all things. Like Colossians 3:24 says of tasks we dedicate to Him, “It is the Lord Jesus Christ whom you serve.”
Results of Serving God
What’s the result of dedicating all we have to do to Christ over the years? God promises that if we humble ourselves before Him, He will exalt us. How does He exalt us? All kinds of ways. One key way is by giving us more of His grace so we can be His blessing to others.
Trust Him with all your heart today. Spread your tasks—even the tough ones—before Him. Say, if you need to, “God, I really don’t want to do this, but I cheerfully do it as a gift of love to You. Help me to find joy and purpose and blessing in this.” Then, patiently keep at it. (Hebrews 10:36) God will faithfully fulfill His promises to you.
“Love the Lord your God with all your mind and all your strength,” Mark 12:30
Then let God be God to you!
Don Miller
