By Michael Strating, PhD
Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 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. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
1 Peter 5:5b-11
Take a moment to ask yourself: what burdens am I carrying with me today? Imagine that each of these burdens is a rock or a heavy weight that you are carrying around in a backpack on your shoulders, weighing you down. Some of us have more burdens or heavier burdens than others, but we all carry concerns, fears, and anxieties of various kinds. This is our human condition in a post-Fall world. Perhaps you are anxious about an upcoming test or assignment. Perhaps you are experiencing conflict in a relationship with a family member or friend. Perhaps you are wrestling with the pain or weakness of a medical or psychological condition. Or maybe you are plagued with worry and uncertainty about the economy, sociopolitical unrest, or upcoming life decisions about career and family. The list could go on and on…
Now, what do you do with this burden? What are the ways that you try to solve this problem or ease the burden in some way? I confess that my default response tends to be to double-down, to work harder to try to fix or solve the problem in some way. We do this when we live in a legal frame of life where we live by our own achievements and perfectionistic strivings. And – let’s be honest – we do it because it often does seem to work, especially when we are able to translate that anxious energy into productivity. But what happens when we encounter a problem that is either too big for us to solve on our own, or maybe the problem itself is unsolvable? Many outcomes in life are unknowable and beyond our direct control, yet we spend a great deal of time and energy worrying about them. We can switch from frantically trying to fix the problem to frantically trying to avoid the problem or at least supress the emotional pain in some way. We avoid thinking about the issue, we distract ourselves with work or entertainment, or we self-medicate with alcohol or other pleasures. The possibilities are only limited by our creativity. However, none of these strategies ultimately work and usually only lead to bigger problems.
Why is it that we often turn to God only as a back-up plan or a last resort? Perhaps we feel guilty. Afterall, the Bible commands us not to be anxious, so I tell myself that maybe once I get my act together, then I can feel good enough to approach God. And herein lies the core problem at the heart of the legal frame of life: our pride. So how do we move from a legal frame of life to a gracious frame of life that seeks God and regards life and salvation as a gift? And not only for the big things, but for the small, everyday things in life as well?
Humility. Peter begins his answer with humility – “humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God.” God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble. As Ed Welch describes in his book, “When People Are Big and God is Small,” an unhealthy fear of the Lord is characterized by terror of God’s holy justice, which leads us to hide from God, just like Adam and Eve in the Garden. However, a healthy fear of the Lord is characterized by a reverent submission that is aware of God’s holy justice AND His holy love. God’s justice and love are holy, or set apart. God is great and mighty. This means that God is bigger than me and my problems. More than that, He seeks us out and He wants us to come to Him. Rom. 5:8-9 says, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.” In most places where we are commanded in Scripture to not be afraid, God reminds us of His nearness: “fear not, for I am with you” (Isa. 41:10). This is not the command of an angry, impatient, and critical tyrant, but the gentle consolation of a loving Father. So, acknowledge your childlike smallness and accept the invitation to seek shelter in the mighty arms of your heavenly Father.
Sobriety & Watchfulness. Next, Peter warns us to be sober-minded and watchful. Humility requires that we have an awareness of our smallness and weakness compared to the Lord. We also need to recognize that when we are stressed or overwhelmed, we are especially vulnerable to yielding to temptation and persecution, indulging in our maladaptive coping strategies and succumbing to despair. When our enemies of the world, the flesh, and the Devil encircle us, now is not the time to self-medicate with substances that impair our judgment, or to occupy ourselves with the pleasures or busy-ness of the world which so often distract us, or to try to take a stand in a misguided and foolish show of heroism and faith in our own strength. Rather, it is time to call in reinforcements and take shelter in God, “my rock and my fortress and my deliverer” (Ps. 18:2).
Comfort & Hope. Lastly, Peter encourages believers with words of comfort and hope. He reminds us that we are not alone in our suffering. Indeed, we need not carry our burdens alone, but we are called to “bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2). Notice how counter-intuitive this is – we do not fulfil the law through perfectionistic striving (as in the legal frame of life), but by obeying the Great Commandments to love God and our neighbour (Matt. 22:36-40). So, we ought to be eager to support one another and to be humble enough to ask for help when we need it. Furthermore, Peter encourages us to re-interpret our suffering in the light of the hope of eternity when “the God of all grace… will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” By living in a gracious frame of life, we regard life and salvation – yes, even suffering – as a gift from God. We are reminded that suffering is inevitable on this side of eternity, but also that suffering is temporary and that God uses suffering to refine and perfect us (1 Pet. 1:6-7).
Let us then earnestly seek God by continual prayer, in dependence upon His promises. Recall the burden that you identified earlier and bring it to heart and mind once again. Imagine Jesus being present with you, as you hold this burden – right here, right now. In a moment of silence, allow yourself to respond to Jesus’ invitation in Matt. 11: “come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Pray whatever you need to pray or simply rest in His presence today.
Dr. Strating completed his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Windsor as well as his residency with the London Clinical Psychology Residency Consortium. His areas of focus include working with relationship concerns, difficulties managing or engaging with emotion, anxiety, panic, anger, grief, depression, self-criticism, perfectionism, trauma, and OCD. He is also experienced in research as well as teaching and supervising therapist trainees.
He is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Redeemer University and a practicing Clinical Psychologist at Dr. Jared French and Associates.
