Will Your Trial Cause Worry Or Bring Glory?

A fiery trial doesn’t send a calendar invite. One moment life feels stable, and the next you’re facing shock, grief, pressure, or a kind of anxiety that pulls you in ten directions at once. Dr. Timothy Mann starts with that raw reality and then asks the harder question: when the heat turns up, what would it look like to glorify God instead of just surviving? 

We open 1 Peter 5 and follow Peter’s closing instructions to believers who are bracing for escalating persecution. The path is surprisingly direct: humility first. We talk about submission to God and to one another, why pride quietly poisons spiritual strength, and how humility is not thinking less of yourself but refusing to make yourself the center. Along the way, we address real church-life tension like generational friction and why mutual submission matters when the world feels hostile. 

Then we move into one of the most practical promises in the Bible: “casting all your cares upon him, for he cares for you.” We unpack what anxiety does to the soul, why we’re tempted to give God only the “big” burdens, and how trusting God’s timing “in due time” reshapes impatience, suffering, and growth. You’ll leave with clear, biblical language for Christian suffering, Christian humility, and learning how to trust God when life hurts. 

Subscribe for the next part of the series, share this with a friend who’s under pressure, and leave a review so more people can find hope rooted in Scripture. What burden do you need to hand to God today?

Transcript

Fiery Trials In A Hostile World

SPEAKER_00 0:15

Dr. Timothy Mann opened the Bible to great character and encouragement for everyday life. Thank you for joining us today on Foundations of Truth with Dr. Timothy Mann of All of Reeves. And today we continue our series Hope in a Hostile World with the two-part message, How to Glorify God in the Fire. Here now with today's message from 1 Peter chapter 5 is Dr. Timothy Mann.

SPEAKER_01 0:40

Turning your Bibles to 1 Peter chapter 5. You know, really, up until September 11th, 2001, our philosophy in this country, it seemed, in America, was it can't happen here. And that very changed so much in our American culture, still affects us today. It was a truly a horrible national fiery trial, to use Peter's words. On a personal level, personal level, you're never really prepared when personal tragedies come, when personal fiery trials come. You're just not ready for it. Even though you might be expecting something, you're still not ready. I was reminded this morning and thinking about my family and uh my mom. She had diabetic heart disease and had been dealing with that for some time, number of years. And and then in the uh summer of 2004, it was determined that she needed a pacemaker. Her heart rate was very low and wouldn't be able to survive. And so we had a pacemaker put in, and everything seemed to be really going along well. And that night, after the operation was over, I went to the hospital and spoke with the surgeon, and he said everything is just perfect. Everything went great. This pacemaker is going to last 15 years. She won't have to have it replaced and even dealt with until then. Mom felt a lot better. She was joking and laughing that night, whereas prior to that, she had been really very lethargic and not well at all, really had a very slow, low heartbeat. And so we traveled back home, which was about an hour and a half away from the hospital. We left there about 8 p.m., as I recall. And you know, the last words I said to her was, I love you and I'll see you tomorrow. And about 11.30 that night, I received a call that I needed to come back to the hospital. And by the time I arrived by midnight, she was gone. She had had a heart attack, was gone. And of course, that was so unexpected. It was devastating that night. She really never prepared for a fiery trial, like you think you will be when they come. And sometimes, as believers on a spiritual level, we're not prepared. Churches are not prepared as a whole, sometimes when fiery trials come. The Apostle Peter knew that the fiery trial, as he used that terminology, was about to occur to his readers of his letter. And he wanted the entire family of believers to be prepared as much as possible. And as he closed his letter here in chapter 5, the Apostle Peter gave the believers, gave the church three very important instructions to obey if they were going to glorify God in this difficult experience. Because even in difficult experiences, God's purpose for us as his children, as believers, as followers of Jesus Christ, even in difficult experiences, his purpose for us is to glorify him, to make him known, to put on display his virtues, his excellencies, and point others to him. And so as we talk how to move really from grace, God's grace, to glory, to glorify him, even in the midst of difficult experiences, we're going to examine these instructions,

Reading 1 Peter 5 Together

SPEAKER_01 3:55

trust the Holy Spirit to apply them to our lives as we look at them. Let's begin reading in chapter 5. He begins to broaden the audience as he closes this letter in dealing with how to be prepared for the fiery trial that comes. Verse 5 Likewise, you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility. For God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To him be the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. By Sylvanus, our faithful brother, as I consider him, I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God in which you stand. She who is in Babylon, elect together with you, greets you, and so does Mark, my son. Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to you, all who are in Christ Jesus. Amen. And so as the Apostle Peter is very aware that this fiery trial, this broad persecution from the Roman Empire is going to be coming upon the believers. Not only have they already been experiencing personal fiery trials and difficulties because of their faith in Jesus Christ, widespread difficulties, persecution is about to occur, suffering is about to take place. Peter's aware of this difficult experience. And it could be this morning that some of you are facing difficult experiences in your life. I know several in our church family is physical issues, some financial difficulties, some maybe having family relationship issues. And all of these difficult situations that we occur, deal with in our lives are part and parcel of living here on this earth. You know, I always remind myself that's why this is called earth and not heaven, right? If we're in heaven, we're not going to be having those difficulties, but we're not there yet. We're not home yet. And so we're going to be experiencing difficult times in life sometimes. But even in the midst of those, we have a responsibility, and God's expectation upon us as followers of the Lord Jesus is to glorify him. And we draw some principles from this passage. Really, the Apostle Peter just gives some very straightforward instructions here. We need to take heed to and apply to our lives. And if we're going to glorify God, we need to do these very things. So what's the first thing that he tells us as he gives these admonitions to obey if we're to glorify

Humility And Mutual Submission

SPEAKER_01 7:30

God in difficult experience? The very first thing that he says is be humble. Be humble. There has to be a demonstration of humility. He had already admonished the believers back over in chapter 2 to be submissive to government authorities. We talked about that. He'd already talked about slaves submitting to their masters, or in our culture today, employees submitting to their employers to the best of their ability. He had talked about wives and husbands' relationships. And now, in these verses, in verses five through seven, he commands all believers to submit to God and to submit to one another. The younger believers, he says, should submit to the older believers. Now, not only out of respect for their age, the idea with the word behind elder here is out of respect for their spiritual maturity. Now he he assumes that. Now, you know this to be the case, and it's been my experience along the way from time to time. Not every so-called senior saint is a mature Christian. That's just true. Because, of course, quantity of years is no guarantee of quality of experience. It's just not. Now, that's not to suggest that in this passage that the older church members, and I know this is a tension that we experience sometimes in our culture and in our settings. I'm grateful that it doesn't seem to be the case here, but this is not to suggest, this passage is not to suggest that the older members run the church using that lingo that we often hear sometimes. It's not to suggest that, and that they should never listen to younger members. That's not what he's talking about. Too often, and as a pastor, I've experienced this too often there is a generation war in the church. Older people resisting change and the younger people resisting the older people. It doesn't need to be that way. The solution to that, and to glorifying God in the midst of difficult experiences, the solution to that is twofold. One is that believers, young and old, should submit to each other. That's what he says here. And that all should submit to God. He's very straightforward in writing this. He says, while the younger people should submit yourselves to your elders, yes, all of you be submissive to one another and be clothed with humility.

SPEAKER_00 9:55

Thank you for listening today to Foundations of Truth, the biblical teaching ministry of Dr. Timothy Mann. If you'd like to make a financial gift today, you can give a gift online at foundationsoftruth.net. That's foundationsoftruth.net. Now let's return to today's message how to glorify God in the fire. Here's Dr. Timothy Mann.

Jesus’ Pattern For True Humility

SPEAKER_01 10:15

Be clothed with humility. That's the answer to the problem. Humility. We need that. The idea is just as Jesus laid aside his outer garments in that upper room and put on a towel to become a servant. So each one of us this morning should have a servant's attitude and minister to each other. That's what he's demonstrating here. That true humility is described in Philippians chapter 2, verses 1 through 11. Let me just briefly read that to you. This is the case study. This is the premier model in God's Word. Where we read in verses 1 through 11 of Philippians chapter 2, therefore, if any have consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind or humility, let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look not only for your own interests. He's not saying that. Now here's the model. Here's the epitome. Who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men, and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. And therefore God also has highly exalted him. Therefore, based on that humility, based on that obedience to death, even the death of the cross, therefore God has also highly exalted him, as the man, as the man Christ Jesus, and given him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, of those on earth, of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Humility is not demeaning ourselves and thinking poorly of ourselves, it's simply not thinking of ourselves at all when it's necessary. That's what it is. And we can never be submissive to one another until we're first submissive to God. That is the very first step. The apostle Peter here quotes Proverbs 334 to defend his point. And that it's interesting that verse is also quoted in James 4.6. Because it takes grace, it takes grace to submit to another believer. But God can give that grace if we humble ourselves before Him. And see, that's the prerequisite. That's where salvation comes in. When we lay down our pride, our own self-sufficiency, our own rebellion against God, and say, I have no hope, I have no capacity, I have no ability at all to make myself right or righteous or put myself in right standing with God apart from his grace. There's no other way. And I recognize that his grace was demonstrated to me on the cross through his son Jesus Christ in his death and taking my sin upon himself, as we say. And I trust that and I believe in that and I repent and I trust Christ. I follow after Christ. God, the Bible says here, God resists the proud. He resists the proud. Why? Because he hates the sin of pride. He hates it. It was pride that turned Lucifer into Satan. Don't forget that. It was pride, which was a desire to be like God, that stirred Eve to partake of that forbidden fruit, that fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and an apple. All right. And then the Apostle John reminds us in 1 John 2, verse 16, that he calls it the pride of life. That's an evidence of worldliness, the pride of life. And so the only antidote to pride is the grace of God. Because the grace of God will humble you when you realize that God extends that favor to you, undeserved, unearned, unmerited. You cannot earn this favor. You do not deserve it. You'll never be able to repay him. That's one of the main intellectual reasons I think that people resist the gospel. Not only, of course, their own depraved nature and their sinfulness, we love pride. We want to be proud. We have this self-sufficiency that we want to contend with. And it's it's difficult to say sometimes, I can't do this. We have to yield ourselves to Him. That's when we receive that grace. And that's really the only antidote to pride is the grace of God. The evidence of that grace that comes forth, here's the evidence, is that we yield to one another. We submit to one another. And submission is an act of faith. It's an act of faith. It's not just an act of the will because what we're doing is we're trusting God to direct our lives and to work out his purposes in his time. After all, I have to confess to you this morning, and I recognize this to be the case. There is a danger, there's a risk in submitting to others. Right? I mean, think about that. What's that risk? Well, they might take advantage of me, they may hurt me, they might betray me, but not if we trust God and if we're submitted to one another. Now, if we don't submit to one another, there is greater danger. But a person who is truly yielded to God and wants to serve his fellow believers, you're not

Waiting For God’s Timing

SPEAKER_01 16:20

going to think of taking advantage of someone else, whether they're saved or unsaved. You're just not going to think about taking advantage of them. And the Bible says here in verse 6 that it's the mighty hand of God. We humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. It's the mighty hand of God that directs our lives and can also direct the eyes, the lives of others. I need to point something out to you in verse 6, that he may exalt you in due time. That's the key in that phrase. In due time. In due time. God never exalts anybody. God never raises, God doesn't give anybody a promotion. God doesn't take you to the next level in your life or any setting in your life until that person is ready for it. In due time, in his timing. I think about there's a great song that the singer Michael English, our friends the Martins, recorded that song. For every cross there is a crown. For every cross there is a crown. See, that's how that works. First, it's the cross and then the crown. The cross, then the crown. First the suffering, then the glory. That's always how that works. Moses, for example, remember him. He was under God's hand for 40 years before God sent him to deliver the Jews from Egypt. Joseph was under God's hand for at least 13 years before God lifted him to the throne. And one of the evidences of my own pride. Now you may not struggle with this. You're probably much more spiritual than I am, and a lot farther along in your Christian life than I am. One of the evidences, I think, of my pride is my impatience with God. My impatience with Him. Might not be your issue. I'm glad it's not. Maybe you can teach me some lessons. I think one of the reasons for difficulties, one of the reasons for suffering is that we might learn patience. Not only in our own life, but in waiting on God specifically. In due time. I think here Peter was referring to the words that he himself had heard the Master, the Lord Jesus, say to him. Remember, the Lord Jesus said this to Peter and the other men in Luke chapter 14, verse 11. He said, For whoever exalts himself shall be, the old King James word says abased. That just sounds bad, doesn't it? Shall be abased. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, will be made low, right? But he that humbles himself shall be exalted. One of the benefits of this kind of relationship with God is the privilege of letting him take care of our burdens. And I just am convinced that unless we meet the conditions that's laid out for us in 1 Peter chapter 5, verses 5 and 6, unless we meet those conditions, then we're going to have a real hard time claiming the wonderful promise of 1 Peter chapter 5, verse 7.

Casting Anxiety On A Caring God

SPEAKER_01 19:23

See what it says? Verse 7? Casting all your cares upon him, for he cares for you. Casting. That's an action. That's a verb here that we see this word care, of course, he casting all your cares upon him. That has to do with anxiety. Literally the definition of that word cares or anxiety, it means to be pulled apart in all kinds of directions. Just torn to pieces, pulled apart, stretched. When the circumstances are difficult, you know this to be the case. It's not only easy, it's our natural inclination to be worried and to be anxious. I don't know how much time I've spent in my life being worried and anxious. If we do that, though, we're going to miss God's blessings in the moment. Because even in the midst of those difficult situations, he has blessings that he wants to give you and for you to experience and learn from him and grow and see him at work. And if we spend that time being worried and anxious, we're not going to be the witnesses that we ought to be to those around us who need to see the gospel of Jesus Christ coming forth in our life in a practical way, in a tangible way. What we need is we need is inward peace if we're going to triumph in the fiery trial and bring glory to his name. Dr. George Morrison one time said, God does not make his children care free in order that they can be careless. Well, according to 1 Peter chapter 1, verse 7 here, the tense of the original language where we cast our cares, the idea is we must once and for all give all of our cares, past, present, and future, to the Lord. I kind of want to hand them to him piecemeal, you know. Here's a little bit of this one, a little bit of that one. That's not the idea here. I'm inclined to say, well, you know, God's too big and too busy to worry about this small problem. I can kind of handle this problem myself, right? I'm not going to put that one on him. I'm going to keep it and I can take care of that one. He can worry about the big stuff, right? He's got a lot of things going on in his world he needs to take care of. I'm not going to do that one. And the fact is, if I keep those little cares, if you keep those little cares for yourself, you know what's sooner or later going to happen? It's going to become a big problem. It grows. It just does. It becomes a big problem. And every time then a new burden arises, and it will, there's going to be a new burden arise. You have to have faith. You have to have faith and remind the Lord and ourselves. We've already turned it over to him. And you go back to that over and over. I think if anybody knew from experience that God cares from for his own, it was Peter. He's writing out of experience here because when you read the four gospels, you discover that Peter had shared in some very wonderful miracles. If you've forgotten, let me remind you of a few. Jesus had healed Peter's mother-in-law. I'm not sure that I like that one sometimes, but uh he did. No, I'm kidding. Uh he healed Peter's mother-in-law. He gave Peter a great catch of fish. He helped him pay his temple tax. That's good, right? He helped him walk on the water. He even repaired the damage that Peter had done to Malchus's ear. And he even delivered Peter from prison in Acts chapter 12. Peter had experienced so much care. I want to ask you, how does God show his love and his care for us when we actually give our cares to him? He does it in so many ways. And I think the Bible teaches us that he performs at least four very wonderful ministries on our behalf when he does this. One is he gives us the courage to face our cares honestly and not turn away. That's Isaiah 41, verse 10. He gives us the wisdom to understand the situation according to James chapter 1, verse 5. He gives us the strength to do what we must do, according to Philippians chapter 4, verse 13. And he gives us the faith to trust him to do the rest. According to Psalm 37, verse 5. You know, some people give God their burdens and expect him to do everything. Right? It's important for us to let him work in us as well as work for us so that we will be prepared when the answer comes. Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you. But that promise really ultimately is connected to, don't miss it, that promise is connected to verses five and six, which is submission and humility. When we get rid of the issue of pride, and that's evidenced by being able to submit to one another and have humility, then we really don't have nearly the difficulty of casting our cares upon the Lord. Oftentimes we don't because of our own pride. And so when the fiery trial comes, if we're going to glorify God, the instruction from the Word of God and the Apostle Peter is to be humble, walk in humility.

Final Charge And Closing Notes

SPEAKER_00 24:42

Thank you for listening today to Foundations of Truth, the biblical teaching ministry of Dr. Timothy Mann. Join us next time as we conclude how to glorify God in the fire and bring our study through 1 Peter to a close. If you'd like to listen to today's program again or share it with others, or find more biblical resources, or give a financial gift, you can do so at FoundationsOftruth.net. Foundations of Truth with Dr. Timothy Mann. It's supported in part by Luther Rice College and Seminary, equipping men and women for ministry through biblically faithful theological education. As a leader in online learning, we are grateful for their partnership in helping carry biblical truth farther. We're thankful for AMN Plumbing, a local ministry partner serving the Ormond Beach, Daytona Beach, Port Orange, New Smyrna Beach, and surrounding areas with Defendable Plumbing Service. Their support helps make Foundations of Truth available to more listeners each week. Foundations of Truth with Dr. Timothy Mann. It's supported in part by Cat Care Clinic, located in Ormond Beach, and serving families with thoughtful and compassionate veterinary care for cats. We're grateful for their partnership in helping carry biblical truth farther.