Humble Yourselves
1Peter 5:4-6
“And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:”
I am writing this article at the end of 2025, and looking ahead to 2026 is a rather daunting sight, but we must proceed and as Alan Campell used to say, “occupy til I come”; we must carry on until Christ returns. It appears today that being humble or having humility is a dying trait in our Israel lands. When we were Godly nations it was a characteristic that generally identified us as Christian nations. Here is one definition of humble, “having or showing a modest estimate of one’s value or importance; not arrogant or self-important:” We were kind and welcoming of others and many of our people were missionaries that went to other countries to bring the message of salvation through Jesus Christ. We were nations that basically followed the Ten Commandments and tried to do good for others. Here is a warning from Jeremiah 13:18 for those in powerful positions, “Say unto the king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down: for your principalities shall come down, even the crown of your glory”. Today it appears to be a trait that identifies us less and less, especially in those people who rule over us. C.S. Lewis quoted on this, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less. Humility is thinking more of others. Humble people are so focused on serving others, they don’t think of themselves.” It reminds us that we are to have a service-oriented disposition as we are called to in Philippians 2:1-4, “If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others:” This was who we used to be as a nation and as individuals.
This is not the world we live in today where we are more and more conforming to the pagan ways around us. By doing this we are thinking more and more of ourselves and what can I get out of it than of what we can do for others and what God is doing in our lives. It pulls us away from God and our relationships with others. Humility is so much more than what we think when we hear the word. When you are humble in your heart it gives the peace in knowing that you can trust in God and that He is with you. Peter denied Christ three times but humbled himself and repented before God and he was restored by the grace of God. Our nations need to humble themselves before God. We are being deceived by our adversary, the devil, and he is very powerful, and we are blinded to what is happening to our nations as a result of following him. God is more powerful than him though, and if we repent and turn back to God, by His grace He will restore us and our lands. We will live with Jesus our Saviour.
We must pray for our nations that we will return to our Lord Jesus Christ. We can then rest in humility knowing that our God is with us and will be with us through all adversity that arises in the days ahead.
I am finishing with this Collect from the Book of Common Prayer from 1549.
This Collect was appointed as the second of three prayers at the end of Evensong in the Book of Common Prayer of 1549.
From The Book of Common Prayer 1549-1662
O God, from whom all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works do proceed: Give unto thy servants that peace which the world cannot give; that both our hearts may be set to obey thy commandments, and also that by thee we being defended from the fear of our enemies may pass our time in rest and quietness; through the merits of Jesus Christ, our Saviour.
