Through Suffering, Day 20 Suffering is only for a time. Read 1 Peter 5:10-11. As Peter is coming to the end of this letter, he wants the people to understand and remember the truth about the suffering they are experiencing. Suffering is only for a time. God is still Lord of all and overall. There will come a point when the suffering will end, and God will reward those who have been obedient and faithful to him. Peter wants the people to not lose sight of their hope in who God is and what God has for them. As we go through challenges and difficulties in our life, we must…

Through Suffering, Day 19 Be alert and resist. Read 1 Peter 5:8-9. Be alert and resist. These are active commands that we are expected to follow through on. As Peter has been discussing the suffering that the people are enduring and that they should be giving their anxiety and fears to God, he reminds them that their enemy is still out there looking for them. Their enemy is desiring their destruction. Likewise, our enemy desires our destruction. Satan is constantly prowling around looking for opportunities to cause us to stumble and fall. Are we alert? Do we constantly stay on guard, expecting an attack? Are we resisting the devil in…

Through Suffering, Day 18 Humility and anxiety. Read 1 Peter 5:5-7. I’ve read these verses hundreds of times before, and even memorized them, but I never noticed that verse 7 comes right after verse 6. The Lord is commanding us through Peter to be humble. We are to humble ourselves so that God can raise us up at the proper time. Still, how often the idea of humbling ourselves can make us worried or anxious about how it will turn out. Well, verse 7 says that we are to cast all our anxiety on him. We are to humble ourselves and we can do it without fear because we have…

Through Suffering, Day 16 Praise and continue. Read 1 Peter 4:12-19. Today in the United States we celebrate our Independence Day as a nation. Interestingly, in our reading today in first Peter, we see a group of individuals who did not have religious freedom. They were being persecuted for believing in Christ and following his commands. While we can celebrate our freedom today, we must also understand that those freedoms are constantly attacked. No matter where we are, we can still experience suffering and there are still difficulties and challenges that we face. We must be focused on following God, period. These verses today both speak about the importance of…

Through Suffering, Day 15 Be alert… for prayer. Read 1 Peter 4:7-11. Peter begins a section here where he is sharing the way we should conduct ourselves because the end is near. Jesus had told his disciples that they should be in a state of constant readiness for his return. Peter now shares that same message with these people. One interesting aspect is that they should be sober and alert. Now, one would assume that to be true. However, it’s the reason given in this verse they are to be that way that caught my eye. They are to be sober and alert so they can pray. When we pray,…

Through Suffering, Day 14 Lost people act like lost people. Read 1 Peter 4:1-6. As Peter continues to offer encouragement to the people, we see him reminding the people that those who do not have a relationship with Christ, act like people who do not have a relationship with Christ. We should never expect those who have not come to the saving grace of Jesus Christ to act like anything other than sinners. It should not surprise us. In fact, it should motivate us to the importance of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with them. Still, they will not understand why we do what we do. Our motives…

Through Suffering, Day 13 Purposeful suffering. Read 1 Peter 3:17-22. As Peter is continuing discussing suffering, he brings up the suffering of Christ. You see, Christ himself had experienced tremendous suffering, and that suffering was for a specific ourpose. Christ’s suffering brought about our salvation. When we are experiencing suffering as a result of our obedience to Christ, God has purpose for that suffering. It is never in vain. We are always able to trust that through Christ everything we experience is a result of Christ’s plan to glorify himself through our lives. Suffering is always difficult, but just like Christ, we can trust that God has greater purpose for…

Through Suffering, Day 12 Give a reason. Read 1 Peter 3:13-16. During this time that the people were suffering, it may have seemed odd for Peter to have given them this advice. “Always be ready and able to give a reason for the hope that is in you.” They needed to be ready to give their testimony at a moment’s notice. They never knew who was going to ask why they were doing what they were doing. And still, going through all of the struggles that they were, why did they keep on? What kept them pushing forward even in the midst of such suffering? The answer is their relationship…

Through Suffering, Day 11 God sees us. Read 1 Peter 3:10-12. God sees us in every circumstance we’re in. As you will remember, Peter is writing to a people who are going through difficult and challenging times. They are suffering. The world is not in agreement with their following Christ and they are paying the price for that. Still, Peter reminds them that God sees them. God knows what they are going through, and God will act and move in a way that glorifies him through every situation and circumstance. Their suffering is not in vain. Their challenges are not purposeless. There have been times in my life when I…