"In His kindness God called you to His eternal glory by means of Jesus Christ. After you have suffered a little while, He will restore, support, and strengthen you, and He will place you on a firm foundation" (1 Peter 5:10) NLT.
In this 1st letter of the Apostle Peter, he expresses from first-hand revelation to the Gentile and Jewish Christians that there is always hope in the midst of suffering. Peter was empathic about this because he witnessed Christ’s suffering; yet at the same time, Peter also witnessed the hope Christ bestowed upon all those who received Him as a result of His shed blood on the cross. During this period of time, Christians were persecuted because of their faith in the Work of Christ. Suffering is a part of the Christian walk; Christ endured suffering and any follower of Christ will do the same. If you haven’t experienced suffering then just know that you will. For God promised that this life will encumber trials and sufferings; yet, we have hope because the Greater One resides within each of us and we are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus. Amen! Now, that’s a testimony of hope for every believer.
As we expound on this 10th verse of 1 Peter, we will come to an awareness and understanding that our trials and sufferings builds Christian character. Some of us would never transpose from our comfort zone to a zone of stepping up and stepping out in unforeseen arenas. These unchartered arenas/areas are the elements that birth exuberant and awe-inspiring testimonies. A dear friend of mine said, "God builds the testimony in us and then He delivers it through us." Amen! The profoundness in this is that humans do not like the test that’s necessary in order to have a testimony. We want the blessings of Christ yet we find it difficult to endure in the sufferings of Christ. However, we must arm ourselves with the attitude of Christ in our suffering just as He did in His suffering. What attitude did Christ behold during His time of affliction? His attitude was to do the will of God which was to carry the gospel to all nations and destroy the works of the devil.
Peter wants the elect of God to not lose hope but to realize that suffering is one tool that God uses to prepare us for life and service in the Kingdom of God. A close view of our text reveals four things that God promises to His elect who are enduring trials and tribulations, sufferings:
1. God will restore you – God is in the restoration business and delights in seeing his people put back together again. Life is often hard and the enemy of our souls does everything in his power to make sure our eyes are not fixed on the Lord. If he can detract us long enough, he knows we are more apt to fall. Take heart child of God, there restoration ahead, and we win. God is for us and not against us. It is the heart of God to restore His children. See, God will come for the backslider for it is His desire for the world to come to His saving grace.
“Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion. Return, you backsliding children, And I will heal your backslidings…and give you a heart to know Me" (Jeremiah 3:14, 22, 24:7 NKJV).
It is in your heart that you can encounter God and be restored. Jesus speaks this message to people who once knew a nearness to God, but have drifted away. The Greek word for restore is ‘kartartizo’ which means to mend together that which is torn; thus God will repair, reinstate, renovate, reestablish, and refurbish:
• Our relationship with Him – when we seek God and called out to with all our heart; He promised He will draw near to you. This is why Peter preached the message of repentance.
• Our state of daily spiritual being (removal of oppression and depression) 2 Corinthians 5:17, old things are passed away and behold all things (everything, not some things but everything) has become (it’s in the state of newness now) new.
Solomon wrote in Lamentations 5:21 (NKJV), “Turn us back to You, O LORD, and we will be restored; Renew our days as of old…”
• Our physical health - "For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD " (Jeremiah 30:17).
• Of wealth and prosperity – Not only will God to restore but in the restoration He assures that we have more than what we previously had.
Proverbs 6:31 "But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.”
Joel 2:25-26 "And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you." “And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed."
In the process of restoration, God brings the object of restoration back in a better way than it was in its former state AND He increases it and multiplies it. He always likes to add more! Look at Job. When God restored Job, He gave unto Job--double (Job 42:10). That's just the nature of God.
2. God will support you – Many will tell you that they are with you but when money runs out and troubles surface and those same individuals are nowhere to be found. This presents for many a state of hopelessness. Often individuals lose sight of the coming glory as exampled in the life of Christ’s suffering prior to His eternal glory. We must remember that the suffering we endure is short and inconsiderable, as compared with the glory to be revealed. Anything that we may endure is incomparable to the sufferings of Christ for our suffering is according to scripture, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” 2 Corinthians 4:17.
Peter again reassures the Gentile and Jewish Christians (the elect which today is you and me) that God will support them and that the suffering will be short term and moderate. It is because of Christ’s unfailing love for us that He will sustain us during our afflictions. We need only “Keep our mind stay on Him and He will keep us in perfect peace” even during the storm. God is the only one who can help in times of grief and heartache. He’ll comfort you if you'll let Him because He understands! See, God’s SUSTAINING GRACE (His upholding love) will embrace you up during times of trial, sorrow, loss, grief, temptation, stress, pressure. God’s sustaining, supporting grace will support you and I and keep us moving when we don't think or dare to believe we can keep going. Sustaining grace will wipe away all our tears and turn our tears into triumphantful endings.
Church sustaining grace says because of Christ’s sacrifice for me, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). Sustaining grace says, when darkness is all around me and there seems to be no way out, “I can call upon the Lord and He will show me great and mighty things, things which I knew not” (Jeremiah 33:3).
3. God will strengthen you – The devil wants the Children of God to fail; to focus on their problems and situations rather than trusting in God’s almighty power and plan. In our times of trouble, we must remember that human strength in inadequate in spiritual battles. However, God’s grace he bestows and His strength within us is sufficient for whatever fiery darts the enemy may dispense. That’s how Jesus was able to endure the horrors of His persecution and crucifixion. Jesus knew that God had His back. We too must know that God’s omnipotent power is unbeatable. Remember my brothers and sisters:
“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1)
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1).
“He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength” (Isaiah 40:29).
“But, they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).
“But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9-11).
4. God declares you land on a solid foundation – It is a known fact that many individuals end up in the insane asylum because of troubled, hard times. Here we have the Apostle Peter, the one in whom Jesus said, “Upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against thee.”
Now if the Bible is the same yesterday, today, and forevermore than that same statement that Christ made to Peter, Christ now makes unto you. You put your name there. Say it with me! “Upon this rock, {Your Name}, Christ will build His church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against me.”
Whenever we pay attention to and conform to the teachings of Christ it is definite that the Child of God’s foundation is solid. It’s definite that difficulties may form but nothing by any means can destroy that foundation. That foundation is not laid upon sinking sand but rather it’s laid upon the infallible, inerrant Word of Truth, the Word of God. If God said it, that settles it. So when the storms come, it’s only the Word of Truth, the Word of God that will keep our feet landed on solid ground ensuring our eternal resting place in heaven.
The enemy says:
You’re the tail --- No, no, you say, I’m the head
The enemy says:
You’re worthless --- No, no, you say, I’m fearfully and wonderfully made
The enemy says:
You’re cursed --- No, no, you say, I’m blessed going in and blessed coming out
The enemy says:
You’re poor --- No, no, you say, I am an heir of the Most High God who is rich; He owns the cattle that sits upon the hill
The enemy says:
You will never get a job --- No, no, you say, My God shall supply all my needs ….
The enemy says:
You are a defeated foe --- No, no, you say, I am an overcomer in Christ Jesus and you are a defeated foe.
See way back over 2,000 years ago, the battle was won for my behalf.
Devil, don’t you remember, when Jesus gave up the ghost and took back the keys to the gate of hell.
Don’t you remember when Jesus set the captives free.
Don’t you remember when Jesus gave sight to the blind and healed the leprous man, the woman with the issue of blood
Don’t you remember when you saw 4 men in the fiery furnace and one looked like the Son of God
Don’t you remember when Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead
Don’t you remember when Jesus turned water into wine
Don’t you remember when Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights
Don’t you remember when Jesus walked on water
Don’t you remember when Jesus feed the people with 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread
Don’t you remember the beatings I endured, the crown of thorns placed upon my head but I kept right only praising God
Don’t you remember the nails in my feet and hands, the piercing in my side, but I kept right on giving glory to God.
Don’t you remember when your friend Judas betrayed me but I kept right on loving
Don’t you remember when Peter, followed me at a distance and denied me but I kept right on loving
Don’t you remember when my own brothers didn’t believe that I AM the Messiah but I kept right on worshiping
Hear me devil, my earthly suffering were temporary and couldn’t take me out. Guess what! They will not take out my brothers and sisters as well! Because (1) I will restore them (2) I will support them (3) I will strengthen them and (4) I will assure they land on a solid foundation in heaven with me.
