Living Hope Day 16

Living Hope Day 16 Reading:

1 Peter 4:14-19 

Ponder

Lots of things in this world make me happy. Taking a walk with my dog. Cooking a really good meal and sharing it with friends. Ice cream on a hot afternoon. But being insulted or ridiculed? It’s not high on my list. 

Yet today’s passage starts with the admonition: “be happy when you are insulted for being a Christian” (NLT). These verses build upon Peter’s argument in 1 Peter 4:12-13, and other translations stress that believers are “blessed” if they suffer for living holy lives, calling to mind Christ’s own words in Matthew 5:11: “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers.” 

Today’s passage reveals some important truths about suffering, so let’s take a look at a few of them. 

• Not all suffering is caused by good Christian conduct. It’s clear that as followers of Christ, we will face persecution and suffering because we are believers. But it’s also clear from this passage and many others throughout the whole of Scripture that persecution and suffering we face for pursuing holy lives is different from the shameful suffering that comes as the result of sinful actions, beliefs and attitudes. 

• Suffering can be an agent of purification. In verses 17-19, Peter introduces suffering as the beginning of God’s judgment, designed to purify and strengthen the church while his final judgment will ultimately destroy unbelievers. If we who know and understand the gospel need this type of discipline and purification here and now, what about those who don’t believe the gospel?

• All unbelief leads to disobedience. When we don’t believe God—whether it’s how he has called us to live or his very character—it generally leads to sinful actions. If you don’t believe that God truly has your best interest at heart, you’ll choose to live in ways that reflect that, pursuing relationships, actions and desires that are outside of his will. As believers, we experience this every time we sin, but unbelievers live in a constant state of denial and sinful actions because they do not know or understand the whole of the gospel.

• When we suffer for our faith, God is with us and will not fail us. When believers suffer for “doing what is right,” they’re never alone in that season. The invitation we have to trust God, even when the circumstances seem too dire, too hard, too insurmountable. Your Creator will not fail you. Even in the darkest seasons that are characterized by suffering you don’t understand, you can entrust your very life to the One who created you and rest in the truth that he is faithful, he is good and he is with you. 

Journal

• What are the areas of suffering in your life right now? Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any sin that may have led to consequences in your life so that you can confess it. 

• If you are suffering because of your allegiance to Christ, thank God that he doesn’t not leave you alone in this painful season. Be specific in the ways you have seen him at work even in the midst of difficult circumstances. 

• How have you seen unbelief in your life lead to sin? What have you learned about yourself from those experiences? About God? 

• Journal a short prayer, thanking God for drawing you to himself even when you chose to live in unbelief and pursued actions or a lifestyle that portrayed that unbelief.