The One who cares for me...

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: 6-11

I am continuing to ponder these verses after both a fine sermon upon them yesterday, and a fine discussion of them last night in our fellowship group. I don't think I saw the connections before, or at least not so clearly: to humble myself before God is to obediently trust Him, casting all my cares upon Him, and not picking them back up again.  When I do this, I am resisting the Devil, because his prowling is useless when my heart is obedient and humbled as it is supposed to be.  What an amazing idea: when I am beginning to despair, I fight that temptation from Satan by casting all my cares upon the One who cares for me and bears them gladly.  It sounds too simple, but my own pride and inflated sense of self gets in the way over and over again. 

All the same, this morning I am marveling at a new day before me, and new opportunities to cast my cares upon One who not only cares for me, but leads every detail of my day, in His divine providence, for my good and His glory.  That is grace, indeed!  May you spend today surrounded by such grace, Gentle Reader.

And more thoughts on all that suffering stuff in the future...