Who’s In Charge?

Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority… (1 Peter 2:13)

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. (1 Peter 5:6)

Of all the inspirational words written by Peter in our chapters this week, these are the 2 verses that stood out to me – “submit” and “humble” are not exactly the most joyful or light-hearted words!

Here are the dictionary meanings of both:

Submit - accept or yield to a superior force or to the authority or will of another person – give in, back down

Humble - to make someone understand that they are not as important or special as they thought

This is the opposite of how many in the world want to be: “Why should I submit to authority?  Who says I’m not important?  I won’t back down to anyone”, but as born-again believers we are not of this world (John 15:19).  For us these words don’t mean defeat and giving in, they bring us hope and victory through Jesus.

We submit, not just to the human authorities around us, but predominantly to the ultimate authority, our Father God and His will.  As it says in 1 Peter 5:6, when we humble ourselves under our Father’s mighty hand, He will lift us up.  Verse 7 goes on to say, “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”

When we humble ourselves and submit to God, we are demonstrating that we are not in control of our lives, He is.  Yielding to His will for our lives and not trying to be in charge of every aspect is incredibly freeing and stress-relieving.  God’s mighty hand doesn’t just lift us up, it holds us close, comforts us, guides us and stops us from making mistakes.

Note that the verse says, “Cast ALL your anxiety on Him”.  Are there any areas of your life you’ve not submitted to Him?  Have you humbly given Him your worries, but then taken them back and tried to fix them yourself?

As we read through 1 & 2 Peter this week, consider how and who you submit to – not begrudgingly or half-heartedly, but “in reverent fear of God” (1 Peter 2:18)

Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. (1 Peter 3:8)