6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. 8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. 10 After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. 11 To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 5:6-11
What are five things we can do right now to receive God’s blessings and take control of our lives?
One. Cast all your anxiety on Him.
We have much to worry about these days. We worry about our health, families, and jobs. We have concerns about politics, the state of the world, and our place in it. We worry about our relationship with God, heaven, and the devil. We face mountain after mountain, worry we don’t have the strength or energy to climb them. We stress about things in our control, out of our control. We worry and worry to no end! Cast all your anxiety on Him! To rid ourselves of anxiety, we must believe in God without a speck of doubt. We must lean on Him. We must look to Him. Believe in His love! Believe in His power! Believe in His promise!
Two. Prepare by humbling yourselves.
Make yourself strong in every way through humility. Humbling yourself means knowing yourself and knowing God. Examine your life. Examine God. Examine your relationship with other people. Examine all the material things in your life. Examine the situations and events in your life. Once you’ve studied all these things, put them in the proper relationship with God. Put them in the right context. If there is something amiss, fix it! Prepare through humility by adopting the proper frame of mind and ideology regarding yourself and your fostered relationships. If we are humble, we have everything we need: God, truth, people, money, glory, happiness, power, and success. If we are humble in all our preparations, God will exalt us in good time. Be patient! It took Joseph thirteen years to become the prime minister of Egypt.
Three. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert.
We must always be on the alert. We must govern ourselves. We must check if we are living as a regenerated soul. We have an Old Self (evil spirit, evil nature, and evil habit) lurking inside of us. This Old Self tries to take over our lives and lead us to destruction. If we are not of sober spirit or aware, this Old Self takes control. We must live according to the New Self, which lives according to truth and the holy spirit. Be alert enough to know the Old Self and New Self are at war and choose to live according to the New Self. We meet a friend and without being aware of it, we’ve reverted back to our Old Self. Don’t let this happen. Be of sober spirit, always.
Four. Fight the devil without pause.
“Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” This fight never ends. The devil prowls around like a lion, seeking to devour us at all costs. We can never put our guards down because we don’t know how or when the devil will attack. In whatever situation we find ourselves in, we must think, “The devil has his eyes on me. Be careful. Be of sober spirit.” As long as you breathe, the devil is on the prowl.
Five. We receive everything through suffering.
We fix what is wrong through suffering. We eliminate what harms us through suffering. We receive everything we need through suffering.
We cannot become whole without God chastising us. Whenever we confront hardships, we must recognize it as God’s love. He is trying to help us fix what is wrong in our lives. It’s a chance to repair our relationship with God and to cure our ills. We must accept suffering and hardship with open arms. And when we want to receive something from God, be willing to endure and overcome hardships! How can you expect His blessings if you compromise the truth and bend to the world’s will? There can be no success without hardship and suffering.
Do these five things and witness amazing changes in our relationship with God and others. Cast all your anxieties on the Lord! Place everything you have to worry about in God’s hands. Be humble by knowing your place in the world. Humility is forming a proper relationship with God, people, events, and material things. Be of sober spirit! Has your Old Self taken over? Make sure to live according to your New self! Fight the devil unceasingly because He is on the prowl. There is no time or place we should let out guard down. Don’t be afraid to suffer! God gives us all good things through suffering and hardship. Recognize it as God’s love and a process to receive His blessings.
GOD FIRST 
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