“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God” (1 Peter 5:6).
Do you ever feel that invisible, heavy hand of God upon you? We attribute our hard times to many things, to other people, and to unwelcome circumstances, but in some mysterious way God is involved. You can’t escape God. “You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me” (Psalm 139:5). Whatever earthly thing I may blame, God’s hand is somehow in it, weighing down on me, reminding me to be humble.
We reach down our own hands to a small child. Perhaps you hold the child’s hand as you walk, if the child lets you. When you see need to strengthen your hold, to pull the child back, to change direction, to guide the child in the way it should go, your hand gets heavier than the child may like. Is God only our Father when His hand is light upon us? “For we know, as children should, that the cross is for our good” (The Lutheran Hymnal, 226, 4).
Father’s hand is always on us in love. “Gently He leads us with a true father’s care … Daily His blessing, His love, attends us” (The Lutheran Hymnal, 28, 4). You are secure in the hand of the Father; Jesus promises it. “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” (John 10:29). His promise helps us bear the present. “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7).
PS. This Minute is from “Timely Reflections,” available at www.tripillarpublishing.com.
PPS. My brain is crying out for rest and study. So…. Diane and I will take two weeks off from the daily Meyer Minute. Need to recharge the gray matter!
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