Is that a mountain or a molehill ?

1 Peter 5  Submit to God, Resist the Devil

⁵ Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for

⁶ Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, ⁷ casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

⁸ Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. ⁹ Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. ¹⁰ But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. ¹¹ To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

There are many keys to overcoming our struggles and trials in those few verses above. Let's first look at what it means to be clothed in humility. The first indication is that to be clothed would mean that humility is something we put on. To be humble, to be clothed in humility is something we conciously must choose to do, much like putting on the armour of God we must put on this clothing of humility. In fact the very process of putting on God's armour helps us also to be clothed in humility. How can that be you might ask since the armour gives us the confidence to battle evil and stand firm. That is true, but it rightly places our confidence in God. You see being humble is not being afraid or insecure. True humility has a confidence that feels no need to promote itself. True humility that we clothe ourselves with comes from the recognition that as Paul says in 2 Corithians 12:9-11.

 “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. ¹⁰ Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 

True humility is walking in the suufficient grace of God. Verse 5 above says God resists the proud. I don't know about you but I don't want to put myself in the position where God would resist me. It's bad enough that I have squandered some of my time resisting God, not yielding fully to His perfect will for my life, but I would not want God to resist me.

This casting "all" of our cares on Him is a first act or response of our humilty. It means that we acknowledge that none of our problems are to big for God. Isaiah 59:1 says of our God, "Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear." Casting  "all" of our cares on Him also means that we trust and depend wholly on God for even the little things. That doesn't mean that we can't buy a loaf of bread without asking God which one to buy. It simply means that we know with confidence that our God, the creator of the universe cares about every detail of our life. Nothing is too great or too small for Him.

Verse 8 holds another key for our victory. I specifically incuded the NKJV today because it includes a critical word that many translations leave out. It says, "seeking whom he may devour". The word that is left out of many translations is the word may.  I am not a Greek scholar, so I am not sure why that word is not part of the other translations, but based on truth that we find in other parts of God's word it is a critical part of the victory we have in this passage. You see the word may is a permission word. It tells us that the devil, this roaring lion needs permission to devour us. In John 10:10 Jesus says  ^"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." It doesn't sound to me like Jesus is likely to grant the devil permission to devour us. So from who then would the devil need to get permission to devour us. The only one who can give the devil permission to devour you is you.  He will roar loudly surrounding you with chaos, turmoil and stress. If that doesn't work he will whisper quietly his lies and deception. But he can not devour you unless you give him permission. If we look around the commas in the passage above we see God's outcome.   Resist him, steadfast in the faith -  may the God of all grace -  perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. James 4:7 gives us a similar assurance of our victory, saying "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."  Resist that roaring lion and he will tuck his tail between his legs and run.

Submit to God. Surley that is a critical first step. If we try to resist the devil in our strength we stand to get a good whooping. But when we submit to Him, casting "all" our cares on Him, we have the confidence and assurance of victory. We have the peace of God. When we have the peace of God let's see what else we have according to Paul in Romans 16:20

 And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

When we have the peace of God, the God of peace will fight and win our battles.

So today whether you find yourself facing a mountain that seems impassable or a molehill that can be stepped over, know that your Father, the God of all creation, cares for you and about everything that you will face today. Whether it's a new battle or one that has been raging for years, know that the victory is in Christ, who came to give you abundant life.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit, I thank You that You see all, know all, and care about all that I go through. Today I clothe myself in humility, knowing and acknowledging that it is only in You and through You that I can do anything of value. I submit to You. Holy Spirit in my submission I ask that You would reveal to me anything that might be hindering or holding back the victory in my life. I trust wholly in You God, and I receive Your sufficient grace for my life. I stand in Your assurance of victory and I rest in the peace of Your presence, knowing and believing that as I have the peace of God, You the God of peace will crush satan under my feet. Thank You. Amen!