Is it possible to rejoice while going through grief and suffering? For those who follow Jesus Christ it is not only possible, but something they should do! In verses 3-5 of his first letter, the Apostle Peter has told those to whom he is writing why this is so. The one who follows Christ can give praise for God’s mercy, for the living hope God has given him and for the new birth he has received.
A fourth thing Peter says we can praise God for is that He has given the followers of Christ an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is based on the fact that God adopts those who follow Christ as His spiritual children. The Scripture says: “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are children of God. For you didn’t receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God; and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if indeed we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified with him.” (Romans 8:14-17) The Bible only gives glimpses what those who follow Christ will inherit. From the passage that was just read, however, it seems that the inheritance may be Christ’s glory. As the Apostle John writes: “ Beloved, now we are children of God, and it is not yet revealed what we will be. But we know that, when he is revealed, we will be like him; for we will see him just as he is.” (1 John 3:2)
Those who follow Christ can praise God for a fifth thing; that is salvation. When we think about salvation we normally think about being forgiven for our past sins. For example it says in Ephesians 2:4-5, “But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).” However, salvation not only looks to the past, but also to the present. The Christian has not only been saved, he is being saved. We can see this from passages like 1 Corinthians 1:18. It says, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (NIV) The Apostle Peter, however, looks toward the future. In verse 5 he mentions “…a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” From these passages we can see that while, in one sense, salvation is already an accomplished fact, it is also a process that is ongoing in the life of a believer. This process will have its completion at the end of time. And so, the follower of Christ should not only thank God for what He has done, but also for what He is doing and what He will do in the future.
The sixth thing that Peter mentions that every follower of Christ should praise God for is that they are protected by faith. In Ephesians 6:16 the Apostle Paul explains the purpose of this protection: “ above all, taking up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one.” It is faith which defeats every attack and temptation of Satan. But Peter makes it very clear that we cannot defeat Satan by our own strength. He writes, “who by the power of God are guarded through faith…” (Verse 5) It is God working through our faith who blunts Satan’s attacks.
Before continuing with Peter’s message there is a very important question that we all need to consider. The people Peter is writing to are suffering because of their faith in Jesus Christ. Though their suffering has resulted from their faith, the blessings about which Peter writes to them also result from their faith. These blessings are not available to those who do not follow Christ. We all want salvation. We all want an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. We all want to be protected by God’s power. We all want to live our lives in hope. But, are we willing to follow Jesus so that these blessings can be ours?
Peter continues his letter:
“Wherein you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been put to grief in various trials, that the proof of your faith, which is more precious than gold that perishes even though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ—whom not having known [NIV, “Though you have not seen him”] you love; in whom, though now you don’t see him, yet believing, you rejoice greatly with joy unspeakable and full of glory—receiving the result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:6-9)
The first thing to notice about suffering is that it is for “a little while.” Even if someone should have to suffer his whole lifetime for following Christ, it is still “a little while” when compared to the eternal joy he will experience. The Apostle Paul writes: “Therefore we don’t faint, but though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is for the moment, works for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory; while we don’t look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18) In the same epistle, Paul describes what his “light affliction, which is for the moment” was: “in labors more abundantly, in prisons more abundantly, in stripes above measure, in deaths often. Five times from the Jews I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I suffered shipwreck. I have been a night and a day in the deep. I have been in travels often, perils of rivers, perils of robbers, perils from my countrymen, perils from the Gentiles, perils in the city, perils in the wilderness, perils in the sea, perils among false brothers; in labor and travail, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, and in cold and nakedness.” (2 Corinthians 11:23-27) Both Paul and Peter are telling us that suffering, no matter how severe, is well worth the eternal reward that God has in store for those who are faithful to Christ.