Oct 12 2021

But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.

In this verse from 1 Peter, we are reminded that the suffering we face each day will soon come to an end. At the time the verse was written people were often martyred for their faith, just as people in some parts of the world today are martyred for their faith. Even if your suffering does not take this form, the Christian's life is difficult, and it can be easy to become weary. Peter's words are a comfort to us today.

Peter calls God "the God of all grace." This serves as a reminder that the Lord is full of grace, and our suffering does not change that. Clear evidence of this grace is the fact that He has called us unto "his eternal glory." We will enjoy His presence forever—a gift we could never have earned ourselves, but nevertheless are the beneficiaries of.

After we have suffered, the verse says that God will make us perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle us. That's a lot of promises! Making us perfect means that God will continue to sanctify us; suffering evidently plays a part in helping us live holy lives. Establish means that we will be rooted and grounded in the Lord. Strengthen means that the Lord will make us strong in Him, giving us the ability to follow Him, even when it becomes difficult. Settle means that we will have peace. Even if our own suffering may seem unbearable, we can remember that it is pointing to something better if we endure it unto the Lord.

Remember that God does not look down on us when we suffer. He is not watching us with indifference or wishing that we would endure it more faithfully. Much to the contrary, He stepped into suffering for our sake. He did not sit and watch; rather, He came to Earth and died on a cross for us. He endured tremendous suffering so that one day we could experience eternal glory in Him.

Dear Lord, thank you for the promise of eternal glory. I look forward to the day when I will rest in your Kingdom perfectly forever. Thank you for being with me and guiding me every moment of my life. Thank you for your precious love. In Jesus' name, amen.

Oct 11 2021

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.:

In this morning's verse, Paul writes about how the Lord has not answered one of his prayers. He wanted to be healed of something, but the Lord said no. Instead, He promises that His grace will be enough for Paul. Paul's response is that he will honor God in his weaknesses so that he can experience the power of Christ.

This verse might be a little hard to understand, much less accept. We're human, and humans want things. We might want a better place to live, or for our annoying neighbors to move away, or for our family life and career to be more settled. And, we may convince ourselves that God wants these same things for us. Surely it's His will for us to live comfortable lives, right?

But this verse gives us a very different picture. Paul was faithful to the Lord—the Lord did not withhold healing because of anything Paul did. Instead, it was the Lord's will that some degree of preventable suffering exist in Paul's life. The reason was not to test Paul's faith, but rather, so that God's strength might be made perfect in weakness.

God can work through our lives when we suffer to minister to other people. Our brokenness can be like a beacon demonstration of God's love and sustaining power. While it is perfectly natural and acceptable for us to pray for healing and for other wishes in our lives, we should also pray that the Lord would help us to honor Him before the healing comes.

We do not have to see suffering as futile. Every wound we've experienced becomes an opportunity to realize the sufficiency of Christ alone. Like Paul, we can begin to pray to that end, asking for God to be glorified in our weakness.

Dear Lord, thank you for being such a loving God and caring about our pain. You don't want to see us suffer. You know the suffering that we face, and I ask that you would please redeem it and bring it to an end. In the midst, Lord, I believe that you are sufficient. I ask that your strength will be made perfect in our weakness. In Jesus' name, amen.
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