April 19, 2026
"Even Though We Wither and Fall, God Will Raise Us Up"
I Peter 1:17-25
I’d like to focus on verses 24 and 25 of our text. “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord lasts forever.” These verses are actually from the Book of Isaiah, the 40th chapter. Peter is simply quoting Isaiah here. These verses state quite clearly our stark reality. We are here only for a short while—and then that’s it for us on earth. We aren’t as invincible as we might think we are.
There are certainly some who think they are above all this. I would label them as the arrogant. They are found in all walks of life. They take pride in their own intellect and accomplishments. They feel a sense of superiority over others.
I’m not going to give specific examples here because I think we have come across such people during our lifetime. As I said, such people exist just about everywhere. It’s not difficult to recognize them. They are in government, science, business, academia, and so on. People who have such a high view of themselves have lost touch with reality. They certainly live in their own world—and in my opinion, a delusional one. They believe they are bigger than they really are.
Unfortunately, this has led them to regard themselves bigger than God. They really believe that they are in charge of their destiny and future. It’s all in their hands. They are above the grass and flowers of the field which are here today and gone tomorrow. They don’t need God in their lives. They are a god unto themselves. The two verses of our text are nonsense to them.
Some of us might be wondering why I am bringing this up about the arrogant in our world. I’m turning our attention toward the arrogant so that we don’t become like the arrogant. We need to have a humble and sober view of ourselves. If we do, we will see that we really need God in our lives. We will understand that apart from God we are truly nothing. We are the grass and flowers that have their day for a short while, and then vanish.
I hope we realize that we aren’t anything other. I hope we come to terms with the fact that we can’t change what we truly are. God has made us so. We are solely at the mercy of God. He is the Master, and we are His servants. That’s just the way it is whether we like it or not. The sooner we accept this, the happier we will be. Trying to fight this arrangement (God is Master, and we are His servants) doesn’t lead to peace and contentment. And going the route of the arrogant certainly won’t make us happy.
Understanding and accepting our place before God in this world will bring us peace of mind and peace with God. As I said, the arrogant fight this. They don’t want to be subservient to God. They resist the truth that they are like the grass and flowers of the field like we all are. I’m encouraging us to accept the truth that God is much greater than we are.
Some people may think they are greater than God, but they are fooling only themselves. On the Last Day, before God, the arrogant will look foolish. They will realize that they were nothing compared to God Almighty. What a foolish thing to have put so much faith and confidence in themselves.
I think people who overestimate themselves make fools of themselves. They talk themselves up, but when it comes to doing what they claim they can, they fall flat on their face. I remember a person who claimed he was very good at carpentry. When I asked him if he could do some repairs on my roof, he said it was no problem. After he was done and gone, I went up on the roof to see what kind of job he had done. I found out that he didn’t do the repairs right. The shingles he replaced weren’t attached according to the manufacturer’s instructions. He didn’t do a good job sealing around the vents. I thought he would certainly know what he was doing since he had made it sound like there wasn’t a carpenter on earth better than he was. Let’s just say I would never use him again nor would I recommend him.
It’s best to know our limitations and be honest with ourselves and others about them. We only look foolish when we can’t meet someone’s expectations based on what we told them about ourselves.
Let’s be honest about who and what we are, especially when we are placed next to God. We are nothing but grass and flowers that fade away after a short while.
Our text says that God’s word stands forever. We don’t, but it does. Our bodies will perish, but God’s word won’t. This is our hope as we contemplate our situation and reality.
One might gather from our text that all is lost for us. We’re here for a short while and then that’s it. There is nothing for us beyond this life. But that’s not at all true. Since God’s word stands forever, His promise to us of eternal life stands forever as well. Nothing can or will ever change that.
I’m sure we are well aware that even though we will wither and fall like the grass and the flowers, that is not it for us. God intends to raise us back to life. Our bodies will come back to life, never to wither and fall again. That’s God’s grand plan for us. He won’t forget us or abandon us. He didn’t create us only to let us die and never be heard from again. He created us to live.
Jesus didn’t go to the cross for no reason. He died so that we might live. He rose from the dead to show us what He intends to do with us. We aren’t meant for the grave forever. God loves us too much to leave our bodies in the grave forever.
What God has done for us and will yet do ought to make us realize that we are nothing next to Him. His power and greatness eclipse us. We can’t begin to do what He does. As I said before, though, the arrogant think they can overtake God. But the reality is they are nothing. God calls all the shots. And since He does, we His children humbly stand before Him in awe.
There isn’t enough respect and fear of God in our world. If people truly feared God, they wouldn’t do the evil they do. But many people are a god unto themselves. That explains why we have many of the problems we do in the world. People refuse to submit to God and instead put themselves above God. They don’t accept that they are like grass and flowers that wither and fall. They don’t acknowledge God’s greatness and lordship over us. That’s where the trouble begins.
But we are not like they are. We fear the Lord because we know that He is in charge. We are nothing compared to Him. We know our place. We humbly submit to Him.
Now, I don’t want to make it sound like God is a tyrant and that He is a ruthless taskmaster and we are His slaves. That’s not what I wish to convey to us. My point is we humble ourselves before God and realize our place in this world in relation to God. We honor and respect God because He lasts forever—and we don’t. We are like grass and flowers that wither and fall. That ought to cause us to fear God and submit to Him.
But this shouldn’t cause us to be angry or sad. Why? Because God intends to do more great things for us. As I said, He will raise us from the dead and never again will we wither and fall like the grass and the flowers.
I would encourage us to continue to honor and revere God. He is worthy of our obedience. He controls our fate and destiny. Jesus once said that we shouldn’t fear those who can kill the body and can do nothing more, but fear God who can kill both the body and soul. That tells us that we need to take God very seriously. He isn’t a joke. Our preaching and teaching us to fear God isn’t a joke. The arrogant may think it is, but we certainly don’t.
Our motivation for fearing God is our love for Him and His love for us. On the one hand, God is our Master, and we are His servants. But on the other hand, God is our Father, and we are His children. The Father loves His children and wants what is best for them. All He does for us is motivated by His love for us. He won’t let us wither and fall forever.
I pray that we will continue to fear and love God who deeply loves us. He will not let us wither and fall, never to be seen or heard from again. His grand plan is that we live forever—and that will stand forever.