1 Peter 5: God Will Restore, Confirm, Strengthen and Establish You

Today’s reading is 1 Peter 5.

Why should we resist the devil? Because we have to be perfect in our resistance? Because victory depends on us and our strength? No.

We should resist the devil because his temptation and attack won’t last forever. Yes, we will suffer for a little while. Yes, we will endure trouble for a time. But resist. Hang on. Because then we’ll have time to pick up the pieces? Because then we’ll have the strength to get it all back together? No.

After we have suffered for a little while, God Himself will restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. Praise God!

This verse is the single most helpful verse to me. I don’t tend to call it my favorite. That is Psalm 37:4: “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” But this one from Peter is the one I rely on the most. This is the one that keeps me turning back to Him. When life is hard and I want to quit, this verse keeps me going. When I have failed and think I should give up, this verse brings me back.

I love this verse because Peter does not say, “Restore yourself and God will have you.” He doesn’t say, “Confirm yourself and God will invite you in.” He doesn’t say, “Strengthen yourself and God will be impressed with you.” He doesn’t say, “Establish yourself and you’ll make it.” He says, “The God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” God will do it. Not simply God can do it. God will do it.

When I think I’m not strong enough, I can hang on because God is strong enough and He will strengthen me. When I think I’m too far gone, I can keep resisting because God is with me and will restore me. When I think I’m too feeble and frail, I can keep putting one foot in front of another because God is stable enough and He will establish me. When I think I’m too questionable, I can keep my eyes on the prize because God is with me and He will confirm me.

This verse gives me hope and keeps me grounded. If I had to restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish myself, I would give up. If it depended on me to get me there, I would quit. But knowing God is the one who will restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish me causes me to keep resisting the devil and turning back to God even after I’ve failed.

Here’s the thing. If it were on me, every time I sin would be a reason to give up. Every time I fail would be an argument to abandon ship. But instead, when I sin, I don’t justify it. I just remember, this is why it has to be God who restores, confirms, strengthens, and establishes me. God has to do it. And God has promised He will. So, I will resist the devil some more today. If I failed in resisting, I will turn back to God and humble myself before Him realizing how much I need His grace and favor to strengthen me to overcome. And I trust He will, in His time and for His purposes restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish me. It’s not about me. It’s about Him.

I don’t know what is happening in your life. I know this, Satan is trying to get you to give up. He is trying to convince you to quit thinking you can make it. And he’s right. You can’t. But you don’t have to. You simply need to resist. You simply need to hang on. You simply need to turn back. You simply need to humble yourself under God’s hand realizing you can’t restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. But God can and God will. So confess your sins, your doubts, your failures to God. Cast your worries, your concerns, your anxieties on God. Pick up your cross again. Resist the devil. Of course you’ll fail at times. But God never does.

God will win. Therefore, you will win. Praise the Lord!

Next week’s reading is 2 Peter 1

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier.

PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family

What do you want to share with others from 1 Peter 5?

Psalm 57: Strength to Stand Steadfast

Today’s reading is Psalm 57.

Our Psalm begins, “Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me.” This connects to the previous psalm, beginning “Be gracious to me, O God.” While the ESV translates the words differently, they are the same in Hebrew. Psalm 51 begins similarly, “Have mercy on me, O God.” No doubt, the cry for mercy includes saving mercies: “He will send from heaven and save me.” Certainly, the plea for mercy includes removing the enemies, “He will put to shame him who tramples on me.”

At the same time, David recorded his plea with an interesting construction. Bullock, in the Teach the Text Commentary Series, borrows from Tate calling it a “Pivot Pattern.” Labelling the pattern looks like this: AB C AB. In the verse, it appears:

Have mercy (A) on me (B) O God (C) Have mercy (A) on me (B).

According to those who label it, this pattern gives God the central position of prominence in the request while surrounding it with the voice and plea of the petitioner.

Perhaps. However, I bring this to your attention because David employs the same pattern in vs. 7. In the Hebrew word order, it appears:

Steadfast (A) my heart (B) O God (C) Steadfast (A) my heart (B).

Whatever the structure by itself entails, this repeated pattern seems to provide a call and response. Perhaps the second statement provides a basis for the first. That is, “Have mercy on me, O God, because, O God, my heart is steadfast.” However, he did provide a basis for the request in vs. 1: “for in you my soul takes refuge.” Consider a second possibility. This repeated pattern may demonstrate a prayer and its answer. That is, David asks for mercy; in response, God strengthens and makes steadfast David’s heart. In Psalm 51:10, from a psalm which also began with a plea for God’s mercy, David asked God to “renew a right (steadfast) spirit within me.” In Psalm 10:17, the psalmist expresses faith that God hears the cries of the afflicted and responds by strengthening or making steadfast their heart.

Understand this: God will deliver at the best and most appropriate time. We can bank on that promise. However, we struggle in the interim between God giving the promise and God fulfilling it. In the interim, we need strength to stand steadfast. We are in good company on this. When Jesus prayed in Gethsemane for the cup to pass if possible, but then submitted to God’s will no matter what, an angel from heaven appeared, strengthening Him (Luke 22:43). God’s mercy not only provides the ultimate deliverance on God’s time table, it includes the strength to stand steadfast while we await that ultimate mercy. Psalm 57 demonstrates this very mercy. David begged for mercy; God gave it in strength and steadfastness.

You need the strength stand steadfast between now and the coming deliverance. Seek it from the only one who can give it. Seek it from the merciful and gracious God who abounds in steadfast love and faithfulness. He will provide.

Praise the Lord!

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier sparked by this post.

PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family

What in Psalm 57 increases your hope in God?