Devotionals by Raul Ries

SUNDAY November 15, 2026

Godly Submission

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."
1 Peter 5:5

Peter spoke to the younger men in the church about the necessity of humility. He exhorted them to be submissive to church elders. The word submit is a military term meaning “to rank under.”  In ministry, I have seen how young people can disregard the leadership of elders. They resist listening to them, because they feel they know better. Perhaps they feel the eldership is out of touch with today’s younger society.

Godly elders have been in ministry a long time, and there is much a younger person can glean from them. If you are young, do not miss out on the spiritual nuggets these seasoned men can teach you. Older people can give you great advice. I encourage you to listen to your godly parents, grandparents, and your great-grandparents. They know what they are talking about. As a young person, I hope you are open to learning from their life experiences. Life has a way of molding and shaping each one of us.

Who does God resist? He resists the proud. This is a subject that most people choose to ignore. They really do not want to hear about the sin of pride, but pride is a sin that causes people to fall. Because of pride, Satan fell like lightening from heaven (Luke 10:18). Ezekiel 28:17 describes what Satan’s pride did to him: “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, that they might gaze at you.”

Take warning. As God begins to use your life, you may begin to think, Hey, I'm a pretty good speaker, a great evangelist, or a pretty good coordinator. All of a sudden, you start thinking that you are so great, and before long, the Lord has to humble you. Believe me, God has His ways of breaking and humbling you. God desires to use young men and women, but they must learn the lessons of humility and submission.

Becoming a Christian means submission to God, which almost always, in one way or another, means submission to somebody He has put over us.
~Elizabeth Elliot~

For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!