Seeds for 07/11/2024 - 1 Peter 5:10-11
Scripture:
And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To Him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.
Observation:
Once again, let’s keep the context for these verses in view. Peter has encouraged his readers to cast all their cares upon the Lord because He cares for them. He has also exhorted them to resist the devil and stay strong in the Lord. The suffering that Peter refers to, again, is likely to be or to include social pressures that tempt the believers into hiding, compromising, or rejecting their faith.
When we are facing pressure to give in and give up our faith, it feels like that mental and spiritual anguish will last forever, like there’s no end in sight.
The good news is that suffering lasts only so long. It always feels long in the middle. With God, it all works out in the end. So if it hasn’t worked out yet, it’s not the end, it’s the middle. The Lord is with us and He will restore us. As the saying goes, “If He called you to it, He will see you through it.”
Paul wrote something that expresses the same sentiment and conviction in His letter to the Philippians.
I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Did you catch that last line? “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” God finishes what He starts. Yes, we are to grow in spiritual maturity and faithfulness to Him. That is our part. But He plays a role too, and we can depend on Him to continue working within us and around us to complete the good work He started in us.
If you feel weakened and vulnerable, take heart. He will “restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast.”
Application:
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, when I am weak and weary, help me to receive your restoring grace that makes me strong, firm, and steadfast in you. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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