Lesson 16: Response to suffering – submission to God
1 Peter 5:6-11 (ESV)
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,
7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.
10 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.
11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Another response we should have to suffering is submission to God. In verse 6 above, we are asked to first humble ourselves under God’s hand.

Let’s take an example of suffering from last lesson – I am fired from a job for reasons that are completely false and I have proof they are. I offer the proof, but no one pays attention. Is my first reaction to become angry? I promise to do whatever I have to do to get my job back?

If I humble myself before God, I’m placing my hurt pride at His feet and giving Him the right to do what He knows is best in the situation. Romans 12:19 says we are never to take vengeance ourselves because vengeance belongs to God.


The second part of verse 6 above tells us that God will bring justice – it may not be on our time schedule, but justice will come. When it comes, God will lift our heads and everyone will know the truth of all that happened.

Does that mean God wants us to be doormats for everyone to walk on? No, He wants us to focus on the RIGHT battle, and as we already learned in the last lesson, our true enemy is not the person who took our job or told the lie, our true enemy is Satan – the roaring lion who is seeking to devour us. We cannot stand against him alone, but we can and should stand against him – resist him, as verse 9 states. Then verse 10 is our promise – God will restore, confirm, strengthen and establish us in His kingdom. Sometimes that promise is realized on this earth, sometimes we will wait till Heaven – but the promise will be kept!

Submission in suffering is often the greatest step of faith any of us will take.

*What virtue always comes before submission, and why is this so difficult for us?
*Have you taken the huge step of faith by submitting in your suffering? If so, what difference has this made? If not, are you willing to be made willing to submit?