Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you.
Under God's mighty hand — that phrase could sound threatening if you picture a hand pressing down. But read the rest of the sentence: the purpose of that hand is to exalt you, at the proper time. It's not a hand holding you down. It's one steady enough to lift you when the moment is actually right.
The hard part is the waiting built into "proper time." Most of us want the lifting now, on our schedule, once we've decided we've suffered enough or waited long enough. This verse asks for something different — trust that the timing belongs to someone whose hand is mighty enough to be trusted with it.
You don't have to feel calm about that timing to start considering it. You just have to notice the difference between a hand that crushes and a hand that's simply waiting for the right moment to lift.
If waiting on someone else's timing feels unbearable, it might be worth learning more about whose hand this actually is.
A short video on this is coming soon — for now, read on.