July 28
BOW DOWN; BE LIFTED UP
"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he
may exalt you in due time." I Peter 5:6
This is tantamount to a promise: if we will bow down, the Lord will
lift us up. Humility leads to honor: submission is the way to
exaltation. That same hand of God which presses us down is waiting to
raise us up when we are prepared to bear the blessing. We stoop to
conquer. Many cringe before men, and yet miss the patronage they
crave; but he that humbles himself under the hand of God shall not
fail to be enriched, uplifted, sustained, and comforted by the
ever-gracious One. It is a habit of Jehovah to cast down the proud,
and lift up the lowly.
Yet there is a time for the Lord's working. We ought now to humble
ourselves, even at this present moment; and we are bound to keep on
doing so whether the Lord lays His afflicting hand upon us or not.
When the Lord smites, it is our special duty to accept the
chastisement with profound submission. But as for the Lord's
exaltation of us, that can only come "in due time," and God is the
best judge of that day and hour. Do we cry out impatiently for the
blessing? Would we wish for untimely honor? What are we at? Surely we
are not truly humbled, or we should wait with quiet submission. So let
us do.