In meditating on 1 Peter 5:5-7, the Holy Spirit connected something for me. In verse 5 Peter reminded his readers that God resists the proud. Verse 6 says, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God…”

Verse 7 gives us a practical way. It says, “Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” The Greek word for care means to divide the mind with things like distractions, anxieties, burdens, and worries. Worry is pride.

Matthew 6:25 says, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life…” Verse 32 says that our heavenly Father knows what we need. Now connect all this with 1 Peter 5:12. It says, “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you.” If God allows trials into our lives, they are His will.

Fiery darts are lies. If we allow them to penetrate our mind, they set up inner strongholds. The battle then is no longer from the outside, but from within our heart. Our heart is our belief center. When our heart is ‘leaky’ then we are not able to assimilate and implement truth because the lies have deceived  us. They have broken through the protective barrier.

Romans 10:17 says that faith comes by hearing God’s word. When I seek to memorize a verse, I have to say it over and over, phrase by phrase. As I continue to repeat it, the truth of that verse penetrates lies that I have believed.

It puts holes in that inner stronghold to weaken it. The more truth I inculcate through memorizing and meditating, the foundation of that stronghold begins to crumble. 2 Corinthians 10:4 says, “…mighty through God for pulling down strongholds.”

This is not medical advice. I am just sharing with you a comparison that the Holy Spirit showed me while talking to a friend.

God created a thin barrier in our guts to prevent foreign things from getting into our bloodstream. When undigested proteins, pathogens, viruses, etc. tear holes in that lining, harmful substances leak out. That creates a plethora of diseases. 

Now correlate that with our heart. He created our heart to hold truths from His word through meditating and memorizing. The enemy seeks to tear holes in our heart so that it is no longer sealed by a barrier of truth.

How does satan gain access to our hearts? Ephesians 6:16 says that he uses fiery darts to attack our faith. What weakens our faith? Fiery darts of doubt, fear, and unbelief. Hebrews 11:6 says that without faith it is impossible to please God. Destructive hidden pathogens of unforgiveness, bitterness, resentment, hatred etc. tear holes in our heart’s lining that affect our health.

The gospel teaches us that we have been forgiven totally. Ephesians 4:32 and Colossians 3:13 says to forgive others AS we have been forgiven. We will not grow when our heart holds unforgiveness.

1 Peter 2:5 says that we are living stones that make up God’s house. We are a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices. Verse 9 says, “…that you may proclaim the praises of Him…” Hebrews 13:15 gives definition.

It says, “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” OT priests killed animals. When we are slighted or hurt, we kill our flesh by thanking the Lord for the reminder of our forgiveness.

Don’t let things from the past weigh you down. Hebrews 12:1 says, “…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us…”

1 Peter 2:1 says, “Therefore…” which means that we have to go back up to the previous verse. 1 Peter 1:25 says, “But the word of the Lord endures forever. Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.”

1 Peter 2:1 says that since we have the gospel which endures forever, we need to lay aside some things. The Amplified says, “So be done with every trace of wickedness (depravity, malignity) and all deceit and insincerity (pretense, hypocrisy) and grudges (envy, jealousy) and slander and evil speaking of every kind.” Selah. Stop and think about this.

If we don’t lay aside these fleshly attachments, we will be stunted in our spiritual growth. September 22, 2011 I had a dream. In the dream I was teaching. As I woke up these words were in my mind. “Without forgiveness our spiritual growth is stunted, like the butterfly that remains swollen.”

You and I daily see the power of God’s words standing fast as the sun faithfully rises each morning. When we hide God’s word in our heart, it creates a stronger foundation for our faith to flourish.

I want to encourage you with Psalm 33:10-11. Amidst the chaos of our world and nation, these words are as true for us as it was when they were written. It says, “The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect.

The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations.” I love the word ‘all’ because it means without exception.

Memorizing: hiding God’s word in our heart, and meditating: ruminating on His truths ~  two disciplines that help us prepare for action. They bind up the things that would trip us or cause us to falter or fall. 

I am memorizing Psalm 33 which is a powerful psalm. I am also meditating on 1 Peter 1. Verse 13 says, “Gird up the loins of your mind…” The illustration is of the Orientals gathering up their long robes into a belt so they could prepare for action.

As I thought about this verse, my mind went back to Hebrews 7:9-10. It says, “Even Levi…paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak, for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.” The Greek word for loins is internally productive power.

Think now of God’s words. Genesis 1:3 says, “Then God said, Let there be light, and there was light.” Also verses 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, and 26 use the same words, “…God said…” I love Psalm 33:9 which says, “For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.”

I’m memorizing Psalm 33. Verse 1 says, “Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful.” Rejoicing is praise. The Hebrew definition for rejoice is to sing out for joy.

Nehemiah 8:10 ~ the joy of the Lord is our strength. Need physical, emotional, or spiritual strength? Rejoice in the Lord. Here is one way. Isaiah 12:3 says, “Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.”

John 15:11 states Jesus’ gift ~ irrevocable joy. Psalm 43:4 says, “…to God my exceeding joy.…” Our joy is within, but we can cover it over with negative thoughts, unconfessed sin, allowing bitter roots to remain, etc.

Psalm 32:11 says, “Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous; and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!” Upright means that our sins are confessed, and our heart is open to the Lord because there is nothing hidden.

Every time I read 1 Peter 1:4 I think of my father’s conversation. When I was really small his dad started building a boat. It was finally finished when I was 11. He named it after me. I christened the Marilyn A of Sacramento. 

My grandpa told my dad that he would inherit the boat when my grandfather died. In the meantime my dad’s uncle Elmer and family would have the boat. When my grandfather died, my dad called to find out where the boat was so he could go get it.

They told him that it was at the Sacramento River and the location. They ended by saying, “It is at the bottom of the river.” My dad’s inheritance was destructible. Followers of Jesus have an indestructible inheritance.

The verse says, “To an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.”