Today’s reading is 1 Peter 5

Tom writes:

We thrive in exile by leaning on the strength of Jesus. In him we remember we have been chosen by God. Through prayer unspeakable strength seeps into our souls. But there is one last factor, one last problem we need to be aware of if we really want to thrive. We call him the devil. The devil is real and exile is his domain; he prowls around here trying to devour people of faith. Which is a bit tricky, because we can’t even see him. And so we are called to be humble; to constantly look for guidance and help from the One who can see him, from the One who has our back. It feels a bit like soldiers on the ground being guided by the officer watching both them and the enemy from the satellite in the sky. If we remain in communication then the devil will not succeed. If in humility we cast ourselves upon the Lord, if we never trust ourselves to understand anything too fully or to be able to cope with anything independently, but rather always look to Jesus and his scriptures for direction then we will do well.

If we understand movement towards hardship to be Jesus way of saving us from an ambush and frustrating delays to be his way shaking off a tail, if we turn from any hint of pride by always assuming that God knows more and sees more than we ever could possibly do, then we will be resisting the devil - the father of the proud. If we always keep in our view the fact that God is the one with the mighty hand and we are the ones who are puny, well, then we will receive grace in the ‘now’ and a crown of glory in the ‘not yet’. Humility is recognising that we are in a battle and that God is the only one who can get us through it. Humility is acknowledging that only in Him can we fulfil our calling. Humility is always resisting the temptation to not read the bible or worship or pray or love our neighbour or bear with the difficult person in housegroup by acknowledging that the One who knows better has said that these are the best things to do and it would just be plain stupid to not listen to him. And if we continue to say and to show that we can’t live without Him then he will restore us. He will make us strong and firm and steadfast. And He will bring us into his eternal glory in Christ our King

Question for reflection

What shocked you most in Peter’s first letter?

1 Peter 5 - Monday 14th October