To Share in Christ’s Suffering.
“So then, let those who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator, while continuing to do good” - 1st Peter 4:19 (MEV)
It was the grace of God that brought Christ to suffer death. The very grace that pardons our soul from sin and the eternal consequences. The wondrous and mysterious grace that brought suffering to Christ our Savior. Many who claim Christ avoid suffering like Christ has suffered. Honestly this is most every believer here in America. We want the benefits of the pardon but we do not want to share in the sufferings of Christ. It’s this heart posture that often leads us away from the Lord or more into our own selfishness. It seeks comfort and not devotion. It desires joy and peace but in the false sense; by the standards of this world. Real joy, suffers. Real peace is not the absence of suffering but the presences of Christ in the midst of suffering. Even in David’s famous Psalms 22, which Jesus quotes on the cross, it ends with the hope of the Lord’s presence in the midst of suffering. Psalms 22, famous for “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” Begins its conclusion with verse 24 “For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; nor has He hid His face from him; but when he cried to Him, He heard”
The Christian life contains suffering and trials. For Christ himself said the world would hate those who belong to Him. The gospel is a call to die to self. It is the lying down of sin and our flesh for the person of Christ. Putting to death the flesh nature to live by the Spirit according to the will of the Father. The process of sanctification is not one in which comfort resides. In fact, the opposite resides. It’s painful. But this pain is not vain, it is a pain that produces holiness to the Glory of God. Not all suffering is the result of sin, instead, it can be suffering according to the will of God to produce righteousness in our lives. However, do not be deceived, sin births death and bares consequences in the flesh and spirit. Do not boast in the suffering brought by the results of sin in your life.
The suffering Peter writes about in this passage is sharing in the same suffering as Christ. Walking according to the truths of God’s way brings suffering. Whether it is the suffering of persecution, mockery, hate, or suffering by the will of God to produce righteousness. Peter offers us hope, entrust your soul to a faithful creator. As believers we will walk through many trials. Some will be the result of a fallen world. Others, the result of our own sin and poor decision making. Yet we will also walk through suffering for the way of Christ. When those seasons come, hold fast! You have a faithful God. If you are in that season now, entrust your heart to a good and faithful creator.
“Father, give me the strength to walk through the trials in this life. May my soul find joy in your way. May my soul find strength in the peace your presences bring in my life. Let me suffer well according to your will. May my testimony be that of David. You always answer the cries of my heart. Amen.”
