December 22
1 Peter 2:4-5:11
Be ready to suffer. This is one of the primary lessons of 1 Peter. In the American church we tend to resist suffering, complain about it, and get angry at those who are causing it. Peter’s challenge is instead to rejoice in it, praise God during it, and see it as a blessing. These responses are very different from our natural reactions. Instead of rejoicing we probably grumble, but God calls us to a very different posture. We are told first to rejoice because suffering is to follow in the footsteps of Jesus and should give us an even greater thirst for the glory that awaits. As Romans 5 describes it, suffering ultimately produces hope by helping us to anticipate the beauty that is to come in eternity. If we constantly seek only comfort on earth, we may start to believe that this is paradise, when really it is the closest thing to hell that believers will ever experience.
We need a different perspective on suffering and we should praise God in suffering because this confirms that we are God’s children. If the world hates Jesus but loves us, then something is amiss. This perspective is very different from what ours might be, but since it is God’s perspective, we need to embrace it.
Father God, help me to see suffering as you see it. Use it to refine my faith. Help me to love those who mistreat me and use all circumstances as an opportunity to make you known. Amen.
How does your view of suffering need to change to match the perspective of 1 Peter?
Be ready to suffer. This is one of the primary lessons of 1 Peter. In the American church we tend to resist suffering, complain about it, and get angry at those who are causing it. Peter’s challenge is instead to rejoice in it, praise God during it, and see it as a blessing. These responses are very different from our natural reactions. Instead of rejoicing we probably grumble, but God calls us to a very different posture. We are told first to rejoice because suffering is to follow in the footsteps of Jesus and should give us an even greater thirst for the glory that awaits. As Romans 5 describes it, suffering ultimately produces hope by helping us to anticipate the beauty that is to come in eternity. If we constantly seek only comfort on earth, we may start to believe that this is paradise, when really it is the closest thing to hell that believers will ever experience.
We need a different perspective on suffering and we should praise God in suffering because this confirms that we are God’s children. If the world hates Jesus but loves us, then something is amiss. This perspective is very different from what ours might be, but since it is God’s perspective, we need to embrace it.
Father God, help me to see suffering as you see it. Use it to refine my faith. Help me to love those who mistreat me and use all circumstances as an opportunity to make you known. Amen.
How does your view of suffering need to change to match the perspective of 1 Peter?
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