” And God will exalt you in due time, if you humble yourselves under his mighty hand by casting all your cares on him because he cares for you” (1Pet 5:6-7 NET).
That God wants to exalt you indicates that He does not want you stagnated let alone retrogressing. He does not want you to mark time unnecessarily. The following Scripture captures the will of God for you: “They go from strength to strength; Each one appears before God in Zion” (Ps 84:7). God’s plan for you is to go from one level of strength to a higher one. God wants you to renew your strength; He wants you to mount up with wings like eagles, to run and not be weary, to walk and not faint (Isa 40:31). Your promotion in life is perfectly God’s will. Additionally, the main scriptural text above is a PROMISE from God to YOU. This means that it is a declaration and an assurance of what God is going to do for you, when you meet His conditions. However you should never attempt to switch roles with God. You are not to exalt or promote yourself; that is not your responsibility. It is God’s: “For exaltation comes neither from the east Nor from the west nor from the south. But God is the Judge: He puts down one, And exalts another.” (Ps 75:6-7).
There is a due time for whatever God does: “You say, “I choose the appointed time; it is I who judge uprightly” (Ps 75:2 NIV). The Greek word for time translated into English in 1Peter 5:6 is ‘kairos.’ This word is time in the sense of an opportune moment for something to happen. Though God’s will is to exalt you, He does it in due time. God will promote you only when it is the right moment to do so. It is important to note that it is God who decides the due time for your promotion. This is why He says, “…I choose the appointed time….” (Ps 75:2). Though David had been anointed King earlier, he did not assume that position officially until it was God’s time for him to do so. The due time for your promotion is the best time for you. Therefore, wait for it.
It is easy, however, to misconstrue the command to wait for God’s time to imply that you should not do anything. On the contrary, God requires you to “… humble yourselves under his mighty hand…” (1Pet 5:6 NET). This is your role. Humility to God is, more often than not, an actively demonstrable virtue. It is not a state of inertia or passivity, as some people wrongly think it is. Humility is also not the misguided self-effacing, timid attitude that often passes for it. Rather it is the attitude of looking to God and His strength, and therefore seeking His face for guidance and empowerment to do His will. While Joseph awaited the fulfilment of the dream God had given him earlier, he humbled himself under God’s mighty hand by being faithful in his household duties, as a domestic staff. Similarly, David, though anointed to be king, faithfully tended his father’s few sheep. Both Joseph and David depended on God in the little things of life. Hence, God exalted them in due time. This is God’s verdict and condition of promoting people:”He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.” (Lk 16:10).
You can only humble yourself before God “…by casting all your cares on him because he cares for you” (1Pet 5:6 NET). God wants you to trust Him enough to cast all your cares on Him. Therefore, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philip 4:6-7). The expression “in everything” in the scriptural text above is noteworthy, because it admonishes you to be faithful both in big and little things. In others words, look to God for help with both the big and the small issues of life, because He has every aspect of your life in equal focus. God will not share His glory with anyone, regardless of whom. “I am the Lord, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images” (Isa 42:8). Remember, God shows no partiality (Acts 10:34), and therefore says, “…“Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the Lord” (Jer 9:23-24). Let nothing in your life compete with God for your unreserved dependence.
Do not be like King Saul, whom Samuel reminded of his perception of himself before he was chosen by God to lead Israel: “So Samuel said, “When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the Lord anoint you king over Israel?” (1Sam 15:17). Saul had begun well—which is usually the case when the awareness of our human inadequacy weighs heavily on us—however he shifted his focus from God to himself. When Saul was little in his own eyes, God could use him because he had no confidence in the flesh. However, as he gained popularity, he forgot where God had taken him from, and stopped humbling himself under the mighty hand of God. Saul’s pride became obvious when he started justifying his disobedience to God, and consequently led to his downfall. His successor, David, on the other hand, responded to his wife, Michal’s, criticism of his exuberant dance in the presence of the maidens, as the ark entered Jerusalem, by saying, “IT WAS BEFORE THE LORD, who chose me instead of your father and all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel. Therefore I will play music before the Lord. AND I WILL BE EVEN MORE UNDIGNIFIED THAN THIS, AND WILL BE HUMBLE IN MY OWN SIGHT. But as for the maidservants of whom you have spoken, by them I will be held in honor” (2 Sam 6:21-22) (emphasis mine). If you humble yourself before God, He will exalt you before men. Shalom.
