Twice in the New Testament we find the sentence “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Those words (at least the first part of the sentence) are a perfect summary of what happened at King Belshazzar’s feast. God was against that proud king. The second part of the sentence serves as a perfect summary of what happens when we humble ourselves before God. God gives grace!

The apostle Peter knew this. One night (all night long!) he was fishing with fishermen friends. They caught nothing, not even a goldfish. When they came back to shore, Jesus told them to go back out and try again. Out they went. This time they caught so many fish their nets were breaking. When Peter saw what happened, he could have thought, “I’m so great! Look at all the fish I caught!” But instead, “he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord’” (Luke 5:8). To fall before Jesus in humility is the right way to respond to King Jesus, and Peter knew that. That is why Jesus gave God’s grace to Peter and called him to be much more than a fisherman: Jesus told him, “From now on you will be catching men” (Luke 5:10). Jesus forgave a sinful man and sent him out to tell others the good news of God’s grace in Jesus. That is what he offers to us too—if we humble ourselves like Peter.