“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand,
that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety
on him because he cares for you.”

1 Peter 5:6-7

Billy Graham, who lived to age 99, was once asked by a university student, “What is the greatest surprise you learned about life?” His answer was, “The brevity of it.” As he worked on his autobiography, Just As I Am, Billy Graham recalled noting “many of the things I have recounted seem as if they happened only yesterday. Time moves so quickly, and no matter who we are and what we have done, the time will come when our lives will be over.”

As all of us grow older, the reality of time will become ever clearer. How we choose to spend the remaining moments of our lives is a matter of wisdom. Do we start with a bucket list of trips we hope to experience before we “kick the bucket?” Do we begin to spend much more of our time frolicking in life’s splendor? Maybe buy that luxury item we always had our eyes on or pursue that lifestyle we always wanted?

Peter teaches us that wisdom in life begins with humility, our willingness to submit all things in life to God’s control, whether we are experiencing success or failure, joy or sorrow, and during the most joyful or darkest times. Humility is wisdom. Only in humility can we begin to relinquish our desire to control our destiny and clearly know that God has a plan for us in eternity. His love and faithfulness will never fail us. In “due time,” He will lift us up and enfold us in His embrace.