1 Peter 1:6 - Rejoice

1 Peter 1:6

“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.”

“In this you greatly rejoice…”

In what does Peter say we rejoice? We rejoice in the things discussed in the last couple of verses: our new birth into a living hope, an inheritance kept in heaven for us, and that we are shielded by God’s power. Contemplate those rejoice-worthy gifts from God – do they bring you joy? Each of those promises are real!

Speaking of joy, one of my favorite passages is Luke 10, it speaks of when Jesus sent out his disciples to do God’s work. This is the account of their return, “ The seventy-two returned with joy and said, ‘Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name.’” That is a reason for joy! But look how Jesus responded, “Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

That last sentence is the key to joy. I want the foundation of my consciousness to be the joy of knowing that my name is written in heaven. I want my daily mood to be based not upon the weather, how I feel, how I slept, or what I’m doing – but on the unshakable truth that God loves me. How great would life be if we could live in that truth every day?

If you are a follower of Christ, your name is written in heaven. Remind yourself of that when your day is in the tank…and when your day is fantastic. That is a rock to tie your life to!

“though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials…”

The bible never diminishes pain and suffering. It accepts it as part of life and then instructs us how to deal with it. The biblical view of suffering goes something like this: if you follow Christ you will be at odds with the world and will suffer for it, like Jesus did. By being persecuted for Christ, we are honored to be considered worthy to share in His suffering. If we suffer with Christ, we will also be glorified like Christ. Suffering is hard and painful, but it is temporary – our relationship with and reward from God is eternal.

I’ll be honest, that is not my view of suffering. To me, suffering is something to be avoided at all cost. So I will stray away from things that might causes suffering – or even embarrassment: sharing my faith, speaking out for Christ or against sinful actions, or volunteering to share my life with another. By doing this, I am being self-centered instead of Christ-centered. And I wonder why I am less than joyful…

Peter acknowledges the suffering his readers are enduring, but again – he turns their focus off their problems and onto their God. As a good friend of mine says, “Too often we gaze at our problems and glance at God when we should glance at our problems and gaze at God.”