1 Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.
God will exalt the humble (and bring down the proud). This is a bedrock principle built into God’s universe. And it is a promise we need to remember. But the exaltation promise is conditional: if you are humble, then God will exalt you.
”To make oneself humble” is a hard, even impossible, thing for selfish, sinful human beings to do. We humans naturally seek attention, recognition, glory, fame, honor, prestige, and simply to be liked. We cannot “humble ourselves” by our own will and desire. It really is something that God must do in us. And He will. To ”humble yourselves” really means being willing to accept the discipline of the Lord with joy and thanksgiving. The Spirit uses the Word connected to the circumstances and experiences of life to convict of sin and unworthiness, bringing us to godly sorrow and genuine repentance.
Then we are ready to receive the grace of God in the Gospel. Through the gospel the Lord lifts us up to the highest places. By faith we identify with Jesus, and what happened to Him happens to us: He ”humbled himself…therefore God has highly exalted him [Philippians 2:8-9].” God ”raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places.” God’s exaltation is glorious; we don’t need the “glory of man.”
We humble ourselves (are willing to be humbled) by repentance and faith, confession and absolution. In this way God fills our craving: we are exalted ”in due time.” Wait for it in faith.