Grace That Stores and Strengthens

1 Peter 5:10 “After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.”

As Jesus followers, we don’t talk a lot about suffering. Some suffering we experience may come from financial hardship, broken relationships, or illness.

When I think of suffering, I think mostly of my sister, Barb. She was my older sister and always had my back growing up. She grew into an active and passionate woman who loved her husband, daughters, grandsons, and the rest of our large family. In her early 50’s, she experienced a stroke which made her violently nauseous every day for seven years. When she couldn’t handle the constant sickness any longer, she took her own life in 2019. I miss my sister dearly and can’t wait to see her again, fully healed.

In this country, we are blessed to experience little suffering from persecution for following Jesus. However, there are many brothers and sisters suffering persecution for their faith in Christ around the world. There are currently 380 million persecuted Christians, with 4,744 imprisoned and 4,476 murdered for their faith in Christ just last year. These men and women are enduring suffering for their faith that most in the West cannot imagine.

Whether our suffering is a result of persecution for our faith, a prolonged illness, or even a result of our own bad decisions, God’s grace is sufficient.

In John 16:33, Jesus says, “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” If we live long enough, eventually we will all experience suffering. But those who put their trust in Jesus also experience His grace and peace that surpasses all understanding, even in the suffering.  

1 Peter 5:10 reminds us of God’s Sovereignty. He uses suffering, trials, and tribulation to conform us to the likeness of His Son. And after we have suffered for a little while, Christ Himself will (as Tom Constable clarifies) “perfect” us (make us complete). He will also “confirm” us as His own, “strengthen” us for service, and “establish” us in His will. God uses our suffering to grow our faith.

I love what Paul says about all the suffering he endured for the sake of Christ in Romans 8:18, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” By God’s grace, we too can focus on the future glory that awaits us in eternity as we endure the temporary suffering in this life.