Anxiety - Pt 1

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 5:6-11 ESV).

There’s an old saying I grew up hearing in Texas: “If it doesn’t sting you, bite you, or stick you it ain’t from Texas.” As much time as I have spent outdoors I can personally attest to the veracity of this common proverb. Porcupines are one of those critters native to Texas that will “stick” you. Fishers are one of the primary predators of porcupines, but quills have been found embedded in coyotes, cougars, bobcats, foxes, lynxes, bears, wolves and even Great Horned Owls. In our picture today I have taken a frame from a video showing the attack of a young leopard on a porcupine. It did not end well for the leopard! I’ve only seen one in the wild a few times. The first time was quite a surprise in that they are much bigger than you might imagine. However, it is not their size that prohibits other animals from making them an easy meal. Porcupines do not throw their quills, but when threatened, they contract the muscles near the skin, which causes the quills to stand up and out from their bodies. When the quills are in this position, they become easier to detach from the body, especially when a porcupine swings its tail toward a pedator. The barbs at the tail tip become lodged in the flesh of the attacker and are difficult and painful to remove. They are not animals to be trifled with. Our reading today begins a section calling on believers to be humble so that they may have victory over their enemy. The opposite of boldness is fear or anxiety. It's not surprising then that God not only calls us to be bold for Christ and his kingdom, but he also makes a provision for us to get rid of our fear and anxiety. Giving us courage and taking our fear are two ways of doing the same thing. Today's text is not a direct call to boldness. It's a call not to be anxious. And so it's an indirect call to boldness and courage. The threat in this text that tempts us to be anxious is not explicitly prison or injury or slander or plundering of property or loss of money. The threat is humility. Or to put it another way, the reason Peter deals with the problem of anxiety is because he is dealing with the problem of humility. Somehow the command for humility makes the command to cast our anxiety on God more urgent, more needed. How humble are you?