In His kindness, God called you to share in His eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, He will restore, support, and strengthen you, and He will place you on a firm foundation. 1 Peter 1:10
A little, or not so little, known fact about me is that I really enjoy baking. When I bake, my mom always taught me the importance of transferring every single bit of the batter I have mixed together from my mixing bowl to my baking pan. "You don't want to waste anything," she would always say. A wise baker, or creator of baked-goods, wastes nothing. In the same way, God, being the all-wise, ultimate Creator of the world, wastes nothing, not even the monsoons of suffering that we face.
1 Peter 5 has become so dear to me throughout times of suffering. In this chapter, Peter writes that we can have hope in our suffering, because God uses our trials and suffering for good. You see, at the time Peter wrote this letter, the church was being brutally tortured by the Roman government. They were facing an intense monsoon of suffering. Like the early church, we, today, also go through much suffering. You and I certainly know this to be true. As we face the heartache in our world today, Peter brings peace and hope when he promises us that God will not allow our suffering to be wasted. This is what he writes in verse 10, "In His kindness, God called you to share in His eternal glory by means of Jesus Christ. So after you have suffered for a little while, He will restore, support, and strengthen you, and He will place you on a firm foundation." Let's break down this verse for a minute: In the past, God called us to share in His eternal glory. In the future, God promises His eternal glory. In our present suffering, God is restoring, supporting, and strengthening us through our suffering. This means that He is with us the entire way through our suffering and trials. We are not alone, and God is using every bit of our suffering for good. This should lead us to declare, along with Peter in the very next verse, "All power to Him forever!" (verse 11).
My friend, whatever you face today, I want you to know that God is not going to waste even an ounce of your suffering. He is going to use it to restore, support, and strengthen you. He is going to use your suffering for His glory and your good. This is the promise that you have in Him. What else can we say besides, "All power to Him forever!"
I am certain, my friend, that God is not going to let your suffering or hardship go to waste. In fact, He is doing some of His best work in you during your suffering. Spend some time right now, and think about the monsoon you are facing right now. What good things might God be doing, either in your life or the lives of others, to ensure that this suffering you are facing is not wasted? Make a list of these good things, and then spend time thanking God that He wastes nothing, not even our suffering.
Read 1 Peter 1:6-11 (NLT)
So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.
This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you. They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward.
©2024 Sagebrush Church
