1 Peter 4:12-13 - Trials, They are a-coming

"Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though some strange thing were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.”

When reading the bible, it is imperative to remember the audience and the circumstances that the author was addressing. 1 Peter was written to encourage and strengthen the dispersed church throughout the Roman Empire as a time of persecution was coming.

His encouragement was basically this: Christ suffered, died, and was raised to glory. If we suffer for Christ, even dying for His name, we too will be raised to live eternally with Him. Peter’s goal was to take his reader’s eyes away from the suffering and onto the promise of Christ.

I was about to talk about how we, as a society, do everything we can do to avoid suffering. But that isn’t true. We are willing to suffer, as long as we deem the end result of the suffering to be worth the pain.

We work out, deny ourselves food we like, and eat tofu and other gross health “food” because we think being fit is more important than the pain we suffer to get there. We spend four (or more) years of our lives studying and racking up huge amounts of debt because we believe a college degree is worth it. Some people join demonstrations for political reasons and endure camping on concrete and risk police intervention because the cause is worthy.

So the question for us is this: are we willing to suffer for the name of Christ?

- Are you willing to discipline yourself to spend time with God daily instead of catching a few extra minutes of sleep?
- Are you willing to allow your bank account to suffer to help the poor?
- Are you willing to suffer being made fun of and being left out because your life is an imitation of Christ instead of an imitation of the world?
- Are you willing to suffer worldly rebuke for sharing your faith with a friend?
- Are you willing to suffer for Christ by following him into full time ministry or as a missionary overseas?

I challenge you to spend some time today – right now would be great – contemplating those questions. Be honest with yourself, you’re not going to fool God, so there is no reason to fool yourself. If you discover that you really aren’t willing to suffer ridicule in your friends eyes for example; confess, repent, and ask God to change your heart.

God honors us when we suffer for Him; that alone is enough to know that the result of faithful suffering is well worth the trouble. I’ll finish up this passage in a day or two – enjoy your Wednesday!

“Even if we may not always understand why God allows certain things to happen to us, we can know He is able to bring good out of evil, and triumph out of suffering.” – Billy Graham