Suffering is joy
by Jill Lange-Mohr
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
‘Do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you’ (1 Peter 4:12).
Peter’s letter was written to poor, disenfranchised people to whom the gospel appealed. He exhorted them by saying, ‘Don’t be surprised at the troubles you are having’; don’t think that this is a strange situation that you are suffering. Don’t expect that doing good will give you an easy life of health and wealth. It may seem very strange to us that Peter is saying that they should be happy to be sharing in the suffering of Jesus. Doing God’s will is no guarantee that you won’t endure suffering. The Christians of Asia Minor were experiencing a test. Just as a fire purifies gold from contaminants, suffering strips away the externals. It reveals who we really are.
This passage from 1 Peter is not about ‘Why do good people suffer?’ It is a letter of encouragement, reassurance and hope for people suffering rejection because they follow Jesus.
Think of a time when you were really suffering. How did you respond? Did your prayer life improve? Did you come closer in your relationship with God? I know that this has been true for me.
If you are ridiculed for being a follower of Jesus, then do not be ashamed. It is not an insult, but a badge of honour. In today’s reading, Peter alludes to Jesus’ teachings in the Beatitudes discussed yesterday: ‘Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man’ (Luke 6:22). In the end, whose opinion will count?
Dear Heavenly Father, please help us not focus on what the world thinks but instead on your holy gospel, the good news of salvation. Amen.
- Click here to read previous devotions.
- We are also posting them on LCA Facebook, making it easy for you to share them with family and friends.
- Sign up to receive Daily Devotion in your inbox every morning. If you’re already doing that, please encourage others to sign up. Click here for the link.
