So, if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for He will never fail you. 1 Peter 4:19
Faithfulness is easy when life is easy. When everyone is getting along, when there is no conflict, when everything is at peace, faithfulness is easy. When life is hard, faithfulness becomes less and less easy. When faithfulness has a cost, it becomes difficult. Difficult times are the true test of our faithfulness to God. When storms come, when the path is less than easy, will we choose faithfulness, or will we walk away? How we respond to trials reveals the measure of our faith.
In the book of 1 Peter, Peter encourages us to continue living faithfully to God, even when life becomes difficult. Here is what he writes in chapter 4: “Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you” (verse 12). If Peter had written this book of the Bible this year, maybe he would have said something like, “Don’t be surprised when a pandemic comes and everything in your life seems different and even uncertain.” Why did he say not to be surprised when trials come? He tells us not to be surprised by trials because they make us “partners with Christ in His suffering” (verse 13). Being partners with Christ in His suffering means that we will have “the wonderful joy of seeing His glory when it is revealed to all the world” (verse 13). One day, followers of Christ who share in His suffering will see the glory of God. I am not sure what exactly it means to see God’s glory, but I have a feeling it is going to be magnificent, and I want to see it! Peter continues teaching in 1 Peter 4, saying, “So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for He will never fail you” (verse 19). In other words, Peter is saying, keep pressing on, even when life is difficult. Stay faithful. God will always remain faithful to you.”
Regardless of what we are facing, we must remain faithful to God, especially during difficult times. When life is hard, when we have spent the better part of this year staying home, when plans must be cancelled, we must remain faithful. Remember, God has always been faithful to us.
Let’s take a look at another part of Scripture that encourages us to remain faithful in hard times. Open your Bible to James 1 and read verses 2-4. Compare and contrast James 1:2-4 with the verses from the going deeper section. What similarities do you see? Are there any differences worth noting? How does looking at both passages of Scripture give you a greater understanding of remaining faithful, even in hard times?
Read 1 Peter 4:12-19 (NLT)
Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.
If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you. If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs. But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name! For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News? And also,
“If the righteous are barely saved, what will happen to godless sinners?”
So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.
©2024 Sagebrush Church
