Week 42
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 (restore-mend), confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”
There are glorious texts of Scripture given for the suffering people of God, but this passage is one that surely brings tender comfort to the stretched and strained servants of the Lord.
When going through the fires of trials in this life, the Christian must remember a number of important truths that will meet us in the dregs of discouragement and lift our spirits to the heights of joy and praise. The first of which is that this passage reminds us that our suffering (though it feels like forever) WILL come to an end. When reading this passage put emphasis on the word AFTER. There is an “after” as it pertains to our suffering. The Lord is in control of our lives, He has allowed this suffering to occur, and He has a purpose for it. But He also puts a limit on the suffering; it will not go on and on and on. There will be an after. The “after time” may be in eternity, but one of the blessings of dying as a Christian is that dying brings an end to our suffering. There will be no trouble, pain, or tears after the Christian dies.
Next, we must remember that God is described as the “God of all grace.” Paul uses the expression, “God of all comfort”, when writing to the Corinthians (2 Cor. 1:3). Here in our text Peter uses a similar expression. God is the God of all grace. He gives grace to go through suffering, He gives grace to sustain us in suffering, and He gives grace to come out of suffering. His grace is sufficient and constantly present with us.
His grace in bringing us out of suffering will do a number of things described by four words in the text: perfect (restore), confirm, strengthen, and establish. These four words should be divided into two categories. The first word is a category unto itself. The word is sometimes translated “perfect” or “restore.” The word is often used to mend a fishing net. It means to heal and bring back to its intended state. The next three words should be taken together: confirm, strengthen, and establish. The idea here is that after the suffering the Christian will experience new strength, steadfastness, and be grounded or anchored for future service. Often in suffering we feel that God is finished with us, but He is not. He will heal us and strengthen us for the task yet ahead.
Christian friend, do not despair in your suffering; God has a plan for you, and He is working to restore you.
Prayer: Dear Lord, please restore and heal me. My heart is broken, and I am weak with hurt. But I pray that You will lift me up and help me to stand and continue on. I want to walk with You and serve you the rest of my days; please help me to do that. Amen.