RECEDE: Saturday, March 17th

WEEK FIVE: RELIANCE

RECEDE

1 Peter 5:7 (NRSV)

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. 

“Karen, you are not indispensable.” These are the harsh words I heard from a supervisor years ago. I had grown weary of being transferred to a different department during the busiest times of the month; this was not the position I had been hired to do. I would request not to go, but was repeatedly told that I was desperately needed and there was no one else to help. One frustrating day I finally asked the question, “What would happen if I didn’t show up tomorrow? Who would cover for ME?” The answer was eye-opening, embarrassing and quite humbling. “Well, Karen, you are not indispensable,” she replied. Turns out, she was right. I ended up leaving that job, and the company went on just fine without me! 😀

Here’s the bad news: We are not indispensable. We are actually pretty insignificant.

I believe this passage from 1 Peter is going to be one of my new favorites…

~Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God.

Recede is our word for today. Google defines the word recede as “to go back or further away from a previous position; to gradually diminish.” As we continue to deepen in our love for God, our lives become less about ourselves and more about God. Our self-importance recedes under God’s mighty hand while our awareness of God’s wondrous power and love increases.

When we humble ourselves under God, we understand ourselves in the proper perspective. On this, God’s created world, I am but one person among seven billion people.* In God’s vast, infinite universe, I am a tiny speck of dust. In God’s eternal time frame, my earthly life is a fleeting millisecond. Yes, we are dearly loved, chosen, and important to God, more than we can imagine. But when we consider the vastness of God’s infinite love and eternal realm, we are made humbly aware of our insignificance.

~Cast all your anxiety on God, because God cares for you.

When we humble ourselves under God, we understand our troubles in the proper perspective. Our burdens, worries and anxieties will recede right along with us! Just think… in casting our anxieties on God, we will place them in a kingdom perspective. We will be able to see that the mistakes we have made become forgotten blips in eternity. We will know that any wounds we have caused are healed by God’s infinitely forgiving and restoring love. We can allow our worries to evaporate in the incredible light and peace of God. All of our problems that seem so major and worrisome will diminish (recede) and then disappear if we place them in the perspective of God’s realm. The biggest problems we have caused or endured are but tiny jots compared to this vast eternal joy before us.

Here’s the good news. We are not indispensable. We are actually pretty insignificant.

Indispensable, significant GOD,
Thank you that you are YOU. You are awesome, infinite, wondrous, eternal, universal, powerful, and beyond comprehension. Help me to continue to recede as I allow you to increase in my life. I know that I am just me, dispensable and insignificant. Help me to keep that perspective. Thank you that, even so, you regard and love me as your indispensable, significant and beloved child.   Amen.

*For a dramatic visual of how many people seven billion is, check out http://www.7billionworld.com/