It's actually been that long. October, I think it was.
And it's a pleasure to be back. I brought my daughter this time.
My wife, unfortunately, couldn't come, but next time.
Today we're going to look at just a really short passage, actually.
I don't usually preach really short passages, but I am today, from 1 Peter chapter 5.
And I'll read it. We'll read it together.
And then we'll take a look at a really common word for Christians.
Really common.
You know, we have our sort of vocabulary that we use as Christians, like the word holy.
At home, we'd call that an in-house word, right?
So it's a word that we use all the time. We just sort of throw it around.
Or we use the word love, right, or grace.
We have these words that we understand as Christians in particular kind of ways, right?
And sometimes they're words that other people don't use too much.
A word like holy.
Now, a word that we use a lot, that everybody knows, that everybody's sort of familiar with, is humble.
Every Christian ought to be humble.
Or humility. We use that word, too.
But what do we mean by it?
And it's one of those words that we're so familiar with, that sometimes we maybe don't ask,
what does it really mean to be humble, right?
So that's sort of the first question, just something to think about.
What does it really mean, if you hear somebody say, or maybe you say, you know?
I'm sure there's people you know, and when people ask you about this idea, he's very humble, right?
Or he always sort of shows humility, or she's very humble.
But what exactly do we mean by that?
And I think it's important for us to understand what exactly we mean by that,
since it's such an important thing for a Christian, right?
We talk about that all the time, that one of the main things that would sort of characterize a Christian
is that he or she is humble.
But what do we mean?
What do we mean?
So let's just read, or I'm just going to read just a little bit of this from chapter 5.
So Peter's writing to a church.
It's a very, very young church.
They're in trouble, basically, for being Christians.
They live in a place, in a time, where it would be very, very hard to be a Christian
and people don't notice.
It would be hard to be, at home, we would say, under the radar.
It was hard for these Christians that Peter's writing to
just to live in their society and not be noticed as being different.
And so they're under a lot of pressure from their neighbors
and from sort of officials and people like that.
And he gets to this end.
And Peter, this is a great little book.
He addresses everybody.
He addresses husbands and wives and people who are servants
and people who work and young people and older people.
He addresses everybody and sort of has specific things to say to them.
And he comes here to the end.
And last of all, he addresses the church leaders.
In chapter 5, he says, this is verse 1,
To the elders among you I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ's sufferings
who will also share in the glory to be revealed.
Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, watching over them,
not because you must, but because you are willing,
as God wants you to be, not pursuing dishonest gain,
but eager to serve, not lording it over those entrusted to you.
Right?
So that's like not being sort of making sure everybody knows you're in charge all the time.
That's kind of what he means about don't lord it over people.
But being examples to the flock.
And when the great shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.
In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to the elders.
All of you, clothe yourselves with humility.
Right?
So now he's talking, he's starting to talk to everybody.
All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another because God opposes the proud,
but shows favor to the humble.
And it's just the next two verses that we're going to spend our time looking at this morning.
Verses 6 and 7.
Humble yourselves, therefore.
Why?
Why humble yourself?
Because God opposes the proud, but shows favor to the humble.
Right?
He's quoting from the book of Proverbs there.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
Cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
So, the title of this sermon is, How to Be Humble.
Now, it's kind of odd to stand up and say, you know what?
I'm going to teach you how to be humble.
Right?
It makes me uncomfortable to do it.
And, you know, I mean, first of all, I mean, you can think, who is this guy?
And first of all, if you are humble, why would you get up and talk about what it means to be humble?
And then, if you're an American, that's even less likely.
Right?
Because one of the things, I mean, we're known for lots of things.
Right?
Not all of them good.
One of those things is not typically humility.
Anywhere I go in the world, it's not really one of the first things that people say about Americans.
But whatever the case, there's a really good reason I'm speaking to you about humility and how to be humble today.
It's because of everybody I know, I'm the one who needs to hear it most.
So, I'm not going to talk to you about how to be humble because I've got it mastered,
or because I'm the expert in humility.
Besides, if I was the expert in humility, you would know because I wouldn't talk about it.
So, it's really because I'm not very humble that I'm up here talking to you about what it means to be humble.
Because I need to be humble.
We all do.
But here's the great thing about Peter.
People sort of ignore Peter, right?
Because we spend all of our time with Paul or reading Jesus in the Gospels,
and Peter kind of gets put on the sideline a little bit.
But the great thing about Peter is he tells you what to do over and over again,
and then he tells you how to do it.
And that's the great thing here, is all I really have to do is just repeat to you what Peter says.
Because he tells you to be humble, and then he says,
by the way, here's exactly, exactly the way you do it.
So, when you leave here today, not because I know everything about humility,
but because the Apostle Peter was such a good guy,
you're going to leave here today knowing exactly, exactly what you have to do to be humble.
Now, there are a couple of things that come to mind when we think of the word humble,
and sort of two things.
And they're not really biblical humility.
One is there's sort of a humility, like you don't want to speak your mind, right?
You think, well, this is just my opinion, right?
And everybody has an opinion.
I don't want to force my opinion on others.
Here's something that somebody said about that kind of humility, right?
So, it's sort of the humility that says,
no, you know, I don't want to push my opinion on others.
Your opinion is as good as my opinion.
Who am I to say that's right?
Who am I to say this is wrong?
It's just my opinion.
If you think that's right, that's fine.
I'm not going to sort of overstep my boundaries.
So, there's that sort of humility.
And a Christian man said this.
Every day, one comes across somebody who says,
who says, my view may not be the right opinion.
But, of course, his view must be the right one.
Otherwise, he wouldn't hold it.
It wouldn't be his view.
He must think that's the right one.
He just won't say that he thinks it's the right one.
We're on the road to producing people too modest
to believe in the multiplication table.
We're in danger of creating people
who think the law of gravity
is just a matter of personal opinion
that you don't want to force on others.
In old times, people were too proud to be convinced.
But today, people are too humble
to be convinced of anything.
And that was written by a man called G.K. Chesterton
in 1908.
Right?
And it sounds like it was written yesterday.
So, there's that sort of humility.
But I would say, that's not biblical humility.
That's not what it means to be humble in the Bible.
Just saying, well, you know, that's your opinion.
And that's fine.
It's just as good as my opinion.
Right?
Or, who am I to say that's wrong?
Who am I to say this is right?
It's just my view.
Now, in the world,
that might be considered humble.
But that's not what the Bible means by it.
The other thing is this.
And I think this is the more likely thing
that we do as Christians.
And that is, we confuse, maybe,
what it means to be humble
with just the way a person is.
So, if somebody's quiet,
if somebody's unassuming,
if somebody is sort of a,
I don't know, wallflower.
I probably shouldn't use it.
At home, we would say a wallflower.
I don't know if that's self-explanatory.
It's like somebody who doesn't stand out,
whatever the case.
But they're quiet.
They don't assert themselves.
And we say, well, that's a humble person.
And they may be.
And, of course, it's good to be quiet.
It's good not to just speak when others are speaking.
It's good to sort of be reserved.
Those are all good things.
But I happen to know
some people who are very quiet,
and the reason they're very quiet and reserved
is because they don't generally think
other people are worth their time.
So, they don't really speak to them that much.
So, somebody could be quiet,
but not at all humble.
Somebody could be reserved
and often themselves
and not speak to others,
but they may be the least humble people
that there is.
So, sometimes we think humility
is just a character trait.
And it may be, but it might not be.
But that's kind of what we think.
You think being humble is just being quiet.
Well, sometimes there's many of us.
I can think of one in particular
who needs to be quiet more than he is.
But, that's not all.
In fact, that's not what Peter means.
Here's what it means to be humble.
There's four things we're going to talk about.
And don't worry, four sounds like a lot,
but it's going to go really fast.
Because Johnny said,
I only had two and a half hours to preach.
So, two and a half hours will easily do these.
Four things.
Number one, if you want to know
what it means to be humble,
according to the Apostle Peter,
which means according to God,
number one is,
you have to begin,
not with yourself,
and what does it mean to be humble,
you have to begin with who God is.
Right?
So, strange, isn't it?
How to be humble.
First thing, start with God.
Number two,
if you want to learn what it means to be humble,
is you submit to God's power.
This also doesn't really sound like,
how does this have to do with humility?
Right?
So, begin with God.
Number two, submit to God's power.
Number three,
trust in God's promise.
Right?
Well, this has nothing to do about humility,
it sounds like.
And number four,
act on God's love.
Act on God's love.
And that's kind of the how-to part.
Right?
So, I'm just going to go through these really fast.
The first one is really fast.
Look what Peter says.
Humble yourselves,
therefore,
under God's mighty hand.
So, he doesn't begin
with the people that he's speaking to.
In other words,
it's not just,
go make yourself humble.
He says,
humble yourself
under God's mighty hand.
Now,
when you hear that phrase,
mighty hand,
what do you think of?
What do you think of?
What comes to mind?
Well,
you know what comes to mind
when I think of it?
Is I think of like a school principal
who's always
like
ready
for you to do something wrong.
And the minute you do,
and that's all they live for.
Right?
And when I was growing up,
I had a particular,
a particular principal
in elementary school.
And I think her whole life
was based on waiting for me
to do something wrong
just so she,
and she was always right.
I would.
But we think of like
God's mighty hand,
like that God's stretching
his hand out
and the minute you do
something wrong,
he's ready to come down on you.
Do you ever think about God
that way?
Some people do.
Some people think that God
is basically just sort of
always hovering over.
Like,
I'm going to get you.
I'm just waiting.
And I'm waiting.
And I know
you're going to mess up
just like you messed up yesterday.
And the minute you do,
because I'm God,
I'm going to jump all over you
and smack you down
and teach you a lesson.
Now,
we sometimes view God that way,
but that is not how God
reveals himself to us.
And when Peter talks about
God's mighty hand,
it absolutely doesn't mean
the hand of God
that's getting ready to smack you
the minute you do something wrong.
It is God's hand
that is stretched out
to save you.
And the reason I'm pretty confident
this is true
is because that's how
God's hand is talked about
in the Bible itself.
Listen to Exodus 3, verse 19.
But I know,
this is God speaking to Moses,
I know that the king of Egypt
will not let you go
unless a mighty hand
compels him.
So I will stretch out my hand
and strike the Egyptians
and all the wonders
and I will perform among them.
After that,
he will let you go.
Deuteronomy 5.
So, in other words,
yeah,
God's mighty hand
is stretched out
and that's bad news for Pharaoh,
but it's good news for who?
It's good news for his people.
Because God's mighty hand
is God's hand,
as it were,
that's reached out
and ready and willing
and able
to save his people.
So God's mighty hand
is on your side
if you're a child of God,
if you call upon the name of God,
if you call yourself a Christian.
God's mighty hand
is not just there
to take you down a peg.
And of course,
yeah,
of course God does punish them.
I'm not saying he doesn't,
but that's not what this text is about.
This text is about God saving
and God wanting to save.
And then Deuteronomy 5.15,
here Moses is talking to the Israelites
and reminding them
of everything that God's ever done for them.
Deuteronomy 5.15,
and you will remember
that you were a slave
in the land of Egypt
and the Lord your God
brought you out of their house
by a mighty hand
and an outstretched arm.
And I think Peter
gets his language from the Bible.
And so when he says
under God's mighty hand,
that's the hand he's thinking about.
It is the hand
of the all-powerful God.
But it's the hand
of the all-powerful God
that is stretched out
on behalf of his people
to save them.
Right?
And so I think
that's where Peter
gets his language.
That's the idea
of the hand of God.
And so we want to be careful
when you hear the phrase
humble yourself
under God's mighty hand.
You don't just think of
I better do this
or God is going to
teach me a lesson.
I think sometimes
as Christians
we think of God
as though he's just
some kind of version of us.
And that is
he keeps a list of wrongs
and he's up there like
you know this is
the third time this week.
Right?
That he's sort of
just always ready
to reprimand us
no matter what.
And that he's keeping
a list of wrongs
and he's thinking
one more time.
Right?
I've let you go three times.
Three times.
You've done the same thing
three times.
I'm going to let it slide.
You keep pushing me though
I'm all over you.
Or that he's just
sort of spiteful.
Or that he's moody.
And so some days
he forgives you
and other days
he's fed up.
But the great news
for you is
in that way
God is not like you.
God doesn't sort of
wake up on the wrong
side of the bed.
God is not different
tomorrow than he is today.
God is not
changing his mind
and thinking
you know I know
I said I would do this
but here's what
I'm really going to do.
But sometimes
we think of God
that way.
But that's not
how Peter's beginning.
Peter's saying
humble yourself
under God's mighty hand.
Why?
Because
he lifts up
the humble.
He opposes the
now God's hand
is against the proud
but the humble
he lifts up.
And Peter's getting
ready to tell you
what you've got to do
to be humble.
So you want to be
lifted up by God's
mighty hand?
Hang in there
just for a minute
and I'll tell you
exactly
how to do that
and it's probably
going to surprise you.
Right?
So you
we began with God
so I just kind of
put those two things
together.
Right?
So that's the
submit to God's power.
Right?
So I kind of put
two points together.
Begin with God
who God is
not with yourself
and humble yourself
under God's mighty hand.
So see we did
two points
really fast.
So now we're
to the third one
and we're going to
slow down just a little bit.
The second one
sorry
third one is this.
Trust in God's promise.
Look what he says.
Humble yourselves
therefore under
God's mighty hand
that he may lift you
up in due time.
Now this is
in fact
a promise
that God
is going to
lift you up
in due time.
And now
real quick though
I want to say this.
Peter is not saying
if you're going
through something
right now
and remember
here's the thing
these people
were going
through lots of things.
He's not just
giving them like
hey you all sit down
and we're talking
about humility.
They're suffering
virtually every day
for being Christians
and their lives
are filled
with struggles
and all kinds
of other things
just like yours are.
So he's not just saying
I'm going to teach you
a lesson on humility.
He's ending this letter
by telling them
reminding them
who they are
who God is
and how to live
before God
and it's all about
what it means
to be humble.
And so he says
that he may lift you up
in due time.
Now what's this due time?
Well ultimately
what Peter is saying
is this.
There is nothing
that you can be going through
nothing that you can be doing
nothing that you will face
that God will not
lift you out of.
Now
you can hear that
and agree with it
and think
yeah so eventually
one day
eventually right
I'll sort of get through this
and it'll be better.
So we think of
we can read this
and think that
the Christian life
is just
I'm going to put up
with a whole bunch of stuff
and then eventually
it'll finally be over.
But that's not what
Peter is saying.
When Peter says
he'll lift you up
he doesn't just simply mean
at the end
in heaven.
Though that is true.
That is very true.
But he doesn't just
simply mean
he will finally
lift you up
put you in heaven.
But for now
you just put up
with whatever
you have to put up with
bear it
you know
sort of
shoulder to the wheel
nose to the grindstone
and you just
bear it
bear up
whatever is happening
and eventually
God will then intervene
and take you to heaven
for now though
right
you just sort of
hang in there
and hope that that happens.
And sometimes
we view it that way.
And certainly
certainly
there are many
many many things
that we will not
be released from
until
we arrive
in heaven.
That's very true.
But we also
don't want to think
of heaven
as just
the thing
that finally
comes
when I finally
get all this
stuff out of the way.
And until then
it's kind of hopeless.
I'll just
I'll make it
eventually
but now
it's just
sort of
misery
or whatever else
I'm going through.
That's not what he means.
But he's calling them
he's calling them
to trust
that God
is on
their side.
And that's
he's getting
closer and closer
and closer
to telling them
exactly what they
need to do
to be humble.
But he's wanting
to make sure
that first of all
they understand
God is not
against them.
And
it would be easy
if you were
some of these people
to wonder
right?
Because they're
suffering
because they're
Christians.
And you get
in a situation
where you're
suffering
for whatever
however you
might be
suffering
whatever it is
you might be
going through
and it's easy
to start to
think
maybe
and you know
that God
doesn't forget
right?
And you know
that God
doesn't ignore
people
and you know
that God
knows everything
but you start
to think
there's something
wrong
with me
because
God is
not paying
attention to me.
God is sort of
checked out
of my life.
I mean I hear
all those things
I believe all
those things
the things
that the preacher
talks about
and the things
that we talk
about
things we read
in the Bible
I know
those things
are true
I just don't
think there
may be true
for me.
I know God
is kind
and gracious
and loving
and he's
on the side
of his people
I just
maybe think
not so much
for me
personally
and we kind
of do that
right?
There's probably
nobody in here
as a Christian
who doubts
that God
is loving
and gracious
but
and you might
not admit it
and I might
not admit it
there's times
where we think
yeah he is
loving and gracious
but there's
something wrong
with me
I've done
something wrong
and he's not
acting that way
towards me
he does that
for others
and I know
all these stories
and I've read
these books
and I've heard
these testimonies
but for me
in my life
right now
not so much
and everybody
I think has felt
that way
and so what
Peter is saying
right
and he hasn't
even told them
how to humble
themselves yet
he's getting
them ready
so that they
understand
if they want
to be
humble
that they will
start with
who God is
remember that
God is
mighty and
willing to
save them
and not just
back when they
became a Christian
but the whole
way
and that
he is on
their side
and is going
to fulfill
every promise
for them
and all
these things
all these
things
are the
background
for what it
means to
humble yourself
now
that finally
gets us
to the
fourth point
and look
at it
humble
yourselves
therefore
I'll just
read the
two verses
again
under God's
mighty hand
that he
might lift
you up
in due
time
then seven
cast all
your anxiety
in him
because he
cares for you
now
it sounds
like two
things
doesn't it
it sounds
doesn't it
because you
might think
what
he's not
even talking
about humility
anymore
in verse
seven
it's what
it sounds
like
right
because
there's
even a
full
stop
there
humble
yourself
under
God's
mighty
hand
he
will
lift
you
up
in due
time
full
stop
then
cast
your
anxieties
on him
because
he
cares
for you
but
Peter
is not
telling you
to do
two
things
he's
telling
you
to do
one
thing
and
then
telling
you
how
to
do
it
now
think
about
it
for a
second
verse
six
humble
yourself
how
do
you
do
it
right
if
this
is
two
things
if
it's
humble
yourself
done
two
cast
your
anxiety
on
God
what
is
the
first
part
how
do
you
do
it
do
you
just
think
okay
humble
yourself
here
it
comes
here
it
comes
it's
coming
okay
I did
that part
now
I'm
going
to
cast
my
anxiety
what
is
it
what
is
it
to
humble
yourself
did
you
ever
I mean
just
think
about
it
for a
second
don't
answer
out
loud
you
don't
have
to
answer
out
loud
but
just
think
of
verse
six
all
by
itself
humble
yourself
under
God's
mighty
hand
what
does
that
even
look
like
in
your
mind
as
you
imagine
it
you
might
even
have
a
vision
of
yourself
what
how
do
you
do
it
so
I'm
just
going
to
ask
you
how
do
you
humble
yourself
you
know
how
you
humble
yourself
by
understanding
that
Peter
is
not
saying
humble
yourself
command
number
one
humble
yourself
command
number
two
cast
your
anxieties
on
God
what
he's
saying
is
this
humble
yourself
here's
how
you
do
it
you
cast
your
anxieties
upon
God
or
cast
your cares
on
him
right
I've got
like
three
different
translations
going
on
my
head
so
I
need
to
keep
looking
down
all
your
anxiety
on
him
because
he
cares
for
you
that's
how
you
humble
yourself
how
do
you
humble
yourself
you
humble
yourself
by
casting
your
anxieties
on
God
and
not
trying
to
carry
them
yourself
so
he's
Peter's
great
he
tells
you
humble
yourself
and
then
says
oh
here's
how
you
do
it
now
you
think
what
does
casting
my
anxieties
have
to
do
with
humbling
myself
well
think
about
it
for
one
minute
what
could
say
what
could
show
humility
more
and
say
to
God
that
I
am
trusting
in
your
promises
I
am
trusting
that
your
hand
has
reached
out
to
save
me
your
mighty
hand
and
that
you're
on
my
side
more
than
coming
to
God
with
all
of
your
anxieties
and
whatever
they
may
be
and
saying
to
God
and
standing
before
God
with
your
hands
open
saying
I
can't
bear
these
myself
I
am
not
strong
enough
to
bear
the
things
in
my
life
and
hand
them
over
to
God
that's
what
biblical
humility
looks
like
biblical
humility
is
this
is
saying
to
God
I
can't
handle
my
own
stuff
and
we
need
to
hear
this
every
single
day
and
it
doesn't
matter
what
your
stuff
is
by
the
way
I
can
just
start
naming
some
things
and
I
will
it
could
be
your
anxiety
over
your
job
or
needing
a
job
or
maybe
losing
your
job
it
could
be
anxiety
over
your
children
whether
or not
they're
believers
or whether
they're
ill
or any
number
of
things
it
could
be
anxiety
that
you
have
over
parents
it
could
be
anxiety
you
have
over
people
from
work
because
of
whatever
tensions
or a
boss
it
could
be
anxiety
you
have
among
yourself
just
with
friends
it
could
be
the
anxiety
you
feel
just
when
you
leave
the
house
and
deal
with
other
people
it
could
be
the
anxiety
of
knowing
or
waiting
for
a
phone
call
from
a
doctor
and
you
suspect
bad
news
or
getting
that
phone
call
and
it
is
bad
news
it
could
be
the
anxiety
that
comes
from
struggling
day
in
day
out
day
in
day
out
with
temptation
and
sin
he
says
all
your
anxieties
he
doesn't
just
sort
of
name
five
all
of
them
so
what
that
means
is
whatever
you
got
you
think
well
what
anxieties
well
just
ask
yourself
what
anxieties
do
I
have
and
then
what
you
say
is
I'm
not
going
to
try
to
handle
these
myself
I'm
not
going
to
try
to
fix
these
myself
and
we
do
that
right
we
do
that
we
know
we're
usually
pretty
aware
of
what
our
problems
are
now
we
have
some
problems
we're
not
even
aware
of
and
other
people
see
but
I
imagine
that
every
one
of
us
are
pretty
much
experts
on
what
our
problems
are
but
yet
how
often
do
we
think
I
need
to
work
on
this
and
then
I'm
going
to
get
my
relationship
with
God
right
you
know
as
soon
as
I
work
on
this
thing
in
my
life
this
temptation
or
this
sin
if
I
can
just
take
care
of
this
and
work
on
this
then
I
can
go
to
God
in
prayer
because
you
think
you
ever
ask
God
for
something
you
ask
God
to
help
to
release
you
from
some
sin
and
temptation
you
think
I
can't
ask
for
this
again
certainly
I've
used
all
my
chances
and
so
what
I'm
going
to
do
is
I'm
not
going
to
commit
this
I'm
not
going
to
fall
in
this
sin
I'm
not
going
to
fall
in
this
sin
again
and
the
minute
I
don't
fall
in
this
sin
again
then
I'm
going
to
be
back
in
sort
of
I'll
be
back
on
God's
good
side
and
then
he'll
start
answering
my
prayers
so
in
other
words
what
you
say
is
I'm
going
to
start
with
myself
I'm
going
to
fix
myself
I'm
going
to
fix
my
problems
I'm
going
to
fix
my
sin
I'm
going
to
fix
my
anxieties
I'm
going
to
take
care
of
them
and
then
whatever
the
bits
I
can't
handle
then
I'll
take
the
leftover
part
that's
too
much
for
me
and
then
God
will
take
care
of
it
now
I
don't
think
any
of
us
think
in
those
sort
of
black
and
white
terms
but
that's
how
we
act
when
it
comes
to
God
that
we're
going
to
fix
the
little
things
or
the
things
that
we're
too
ashamed
to
bring
back
to
God
we're
going
to
work
on
those
and
then
get
our
relationship
back
on
track
with
God
what
Peter
is
saying
is
this
no
you
want
to
be
humble
and
here
basically
Peter
is
saying
you
want
to
live
a
real
authentic
Christian
life
he's
not
just
talking
about
a
characteristic
of
a
Christian
by the
way
what
it
means
to
be
humble
he's
really
talking
about
what
it
means
to
live
your
practical
Christian
life
not
just
have
the
humble
box
checked
off
and
says
cast
your
anxieties
on him
and
that's
what
a
humble
person
looks
like
a
humble
person
is
a
person
who
looks
at
God
and
whatever
their
trouble
may
be
whatever
the
anxiety
may
be
whatever
that
thing
is
that
you
lay
awake
at
night
staring
at
the
ceiling
that
maybe
only
you
don't
even
want
the
lights
to
go
out
because
you
know
when
the
lights
go
out
here
it
comes
rushing
in
on
you
maybe
you
held
it
back
all
day
by
being
busy
maybe
you
had to
go to
work
you had to
take care of
your kids
you had to do
all kinds of
other things
and then
at night
all of a sudden
you're
alone
you have
a moment
or you're
driving
the car
and here
it
comes
and you
know
it's
coming
what
Peter's
saying
is this
is
whatever
that
may
be
you
take
it
before
God
and you
hold
your
hands
out
and
stand
before
God
under
God's
hand
who's
ready
to
save
you
and
say
I
can't
I
can't
bear
this
myself
I
can't
fix
this
I
can't
make
this
go
away
I
can't
make
this
better
and
you
cast
it
on
God
who
can
carry
it
who
can
fix
it
who
can
maybe
not
take
it
from
you
immediately
and
make
your
life
all of a
sudden
a bed
of roses
but
can
intervene
in your
life
in a
real
way
and
show
you
that
his
grace
is
sufficient
for
you
even
if
that
means
your
troubles
are
not
going
to
disappear
that's
what
God
does
God
doesn't
typically
come
in
and
just
sort
of
take
away
your
disease
or
all of a
sudden
take
away
all
the
tensions
you
have
in
your
life
he
comes
in
and
teaches
you
how
to
live
in
those
things
and rely
on
him
in the
midst
of
it
God
teaches
you
that
he's
there
with
you
in
the
midst
of
it
that
he's
aware
of
your
suffering
he's
aware
of
your
anxieties
and
he
says
give
them
to
me
right
he's
the
all
powerful
eternal
God
and
says
to
you
who
are
not
all
powerful
and
are
not
eternal
and
are
not
almighty
and
don't
know
everything
and
can't
do
anything
can't
do
everything
the
one
who
can
do
everything
does
do
everything
who
creates
something
out of
nothing
who
created
the
whole
world
who
provided
a
savior
for
us
in
his
son
Jesus
Christ
says
I
can
do
it
what
can
he
not
do
if
God
can
forgive
your
sins
fully
do
you
believe
that
God
forgave
your
sins
fully
in
Jesus
can
he
not
also
then
bear
your
burdens
for
you
if
you
bring
them
to
him
it
can't
be
too
much
for
him
and
he
doesn't
look
at
you
and
say
alright
you
know
what I'm
talking
about
alright
here
we
go
again
because
James
says
in
chapter
1
that
God
gives
without
holding
a
grudge
God
doesn't
you
don't
come
to
God
and
ask
for
something
and
he's
like
alright
I gotta
do it
I mean
I'm
God
and all
and
you know
I know
you
and all
your
failings
God's
not like
that
God
never
God
never
blames
you
for not
being able
to do
something
that
he
knows
you
can't
do
already
God's
not
going to
blame
you
for not
being
able
to
bear
your
own
anxieties
and
troubles
because
he
already
knows
ahead
of
time
that
you
cannot
do
it
and
that's
why
he
says
you
know
who
can
I
can
you
know
who
wants
to
I
do
you
know
how
I've
proved
it
to
you
is
I
have
taken
away
your
greatest
anxiety
and
that
is
sin
and
death
by
how
taking
it
upon
myself
in
the
person
of
my
son
and
so
that's
what
Peter's
talking
about
here
and
then
look
at
the
very
last
thing
and
this
is
it
we're
going
to
wrap
up
with
this
don't
miss
these
last
few
words
because
he
cares
for
you
right
God
doesn't
just
say
I
guess
I
got
to
do
this
I
mean
we
have
this
sort
of
relationship
and
it's
my
job
to
forgive
God
says
Peter
says
why
because
he
cares
for
you
and
that's
a
huge
question
for
you
to
ask
yourself
today
can
you
say
this
and
believe
it
well
here's
the
thing
you
can
say
it
and
believe
that
God
never
breaks
his
promises
and
it's
important
for
you
not
to
think
because
he
cares
for
me
I'm
not
really
feeling
it
the
idea
here
is
that
Peter
just
says
it
cast
your
anxieties
on
him
not
so
he
can
say
all
right
but
he
cares
for
you
it's
another
way
of
saying
because
he
wants
you
to
because
he
wants
and
desires
to
bear
those
things
for
you
he
bore
the
burden
of
your
sin
he
wants
to
bear
and
is
willing
and
more
than
able
he
wants
you
to
come
before
him
and
say
you
know
what
you're
God
I'm
not
you
give
and
I
receive
I'm
not
bringing
you
know
what
you
bring
to
God
all
your
stuff
you
know
what
God
gives
you
life
and
he
takes
it
from
you
so
say
this
to
yourself
today
not
because
he
cares
for
you
don't
say
you
because
he
cares
for
me
right
because
he
cares
for
me
I
can
take
my
anxieties
whatever
they
may
be
and
cast
them
upon
him
and
believe
that
I
don't
just
do
it
because
he's
God
but
he
personally
cares
for
me
calls
me
my
name
knows
who
I
am
and
loves
me
and
is
more
aware
of
my
faults
and
problems
than
anybody
more
aware
of
my
faults
and
problems
than
even
I
am
but
he
cares
for
me
and
this
is
what
Peter
says
so
you
want
to
know
how
to
be
humble
here's
how
you
I'm
not
going
to
fix
myself
by
myself
I'm
not
strong
enough
to
do
it
and
that's
a
very
difficult
thing
to
do
because
we
want
to
believe
that
we
can
in
fact
fix
ourselves
we
want
to
believe
that
we
can
in
fact
kind
of
tie
up
some
loose
ends
and
then
we'll
do
the
God
part
with
our
relationship
with
God
but
Peter
is
saying
you
don't
have
to
do
any
of
that
it's
all
free
because
God
cares
for
you
so
humble
yourself
under
the
mighty
hand
of
God
so
that
he
will
lift
you
up
in
due
time
by
casting
all
your
anxieties
on
him
because
he
cares
for
you
let's
pray
father
help
these
not
to
just
be
words
that
we
repeat
back
or
say
or
read
or
just
sort
of
agree
with
but
words
that
are
real
to
us
that
penetrate
our
heart
that
strip
away
all
the
barriers
that we
put up
between
ourselves
and
you
and
all
of
our
efforts
to
try
to
make
ourselves
better
but
help
us
to
believe
that
when
it
says
that
you
care
for
us
that
you
really
do
not
just
that
you
care
for
others
but
that
you
care
for
me
you
care
for
each
one
of
us
so
Lord
give us
the
grace
today
to
unload
our
anxieties
and
burdens
onto
you
and
to
trust
that
you
are
on
our
side
in
Christ's
name
Amen