Day 1

Understand their story

Read 1 Peter 5:6-9 and then focus on verses 6-7.  

  • WHAT is the command (imperative) in verse 6? And WHY should Peter’s recipients obey this command?
  • HOW can they obey this command? (hint: verse 7 begins with a participle – a verb which is being used as an adjective, modifying the command in verse 6. Check how the NET Bible translates this verse if you need more clarification on what we’re asking here).
  • WHY should Peter’s recipients cast their anxieties on the LORD?
    • Reflect: How or why can we humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand by casting our anxieties on him? What is the link between these two ideas?
    • Reflect: Do you actually believe and KNOW that God cares for you?  How would your level of worry be different if you fully believed this? 

 

Pray today in adoration.  God cares for you! Ask God to help you fully believe this truth.

Day 2

Understand their story

Read 1 Peter 5:6-9 and then focus on verses 8-9.

  • WHAT is the command (imperative) in verse 8?
  • WHY should Peter’s recipients obey this command? (eg. what truth (indicative) do they need to understand?)
  • HOW should they respond to this truth? WHAT is the command (imperative) in verse 9?
  • HOW can they obey this command? What do they need to know? What do the need to do?
    • Reflect: Are you aware of the ways in which the devil may try to take you out?  What does it look like for you to resist him.

 

Pray today in supplication. Ask the LORD for insight into your own areas of weakness.  How can you become more firm in your faith, so that you can resist the devil?

Day 3

Connect to His story

Read 1 Peter 5:6-9 again and then focus on verses 6-7. Peter calls his recipients to humble themselves under the mighty hand of God as an act of trust, believing that he can and will save them in his time. As he does so, he is alluding to Old Testament language. 

  • Read Deuteronomy 4:32-40.  What did God do with a mighty hand? What was the result for the people of Israel?
  • Read Daniel 9:13-19. What did God do with a mighty hand in the past? How does his knowledge of God’s past actions shape Daniel’s prayer for the future? 
  • Read Psalm 55, and then focus on verse 22. What painful situation is David describing in Psalm 55:1-15, 20-21?  What knowledge does he hold onto for hope (verses 16-19, v 22)?

 

Pray today in adoration: God is the same yesterday, today, and forever! He has saved his people in the past with a mighty hand, and he can and will save his people again with a mighty hand.

Day 4

Connect to His story

Read 1 Peter 5:6-9 again and then focus on verses 8-9

The Scriptures teach us to be aware of Satan’s ploys but not afraid of him. 

  • What do we learn about Satan’s actions and his interactions with God the Father and Jesus in the following passages? Job 1:6-12, 2:1-6; Matthew 4:1, 10-11; Luke 22:31-34.
  • How do we protect ourselves from the devil’s schemes according to Ephesians 6:10-13?

 

Pray today in adoration and supplication.  Praise God that he does not allow the devil full reign over the earth. Ask for the help of the Spirit to resist the devil’s schemes.

Day 5

Apply to our story

Read 1 Peter 5:6-9 one final time.

We learned this week that we can cast our anxieties on God as we learn to depend on his mighty hand for rescue. 

  • What anxieties can you cast on him today, because he cares for you?

We were also reminded to be watchful for the ways in which Satan wants to take us out. To encourage his recipients to persevere, Peter explains that people throughout the world are experiencing the same kinds of suffering.  It seems that they needed to remember that they weren’t alone, so that they didn’t fall prey to Satan by embracing self-pity!  

  • Is Satan tempting you to believe that you are alone in your particular difficult circumstance? How can you resist this lie?  (see 1 Corinthians 10:11-13)

 

Pray today in confession.  Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal where you are holding onto anxiety because you don’t functionally believe that he cares for you, and where you feel alone in your suffering or temptation. Reach out to a friend or come to the church for prayer, if you need encouragement from others!