1 Peter 5:10 “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself . . . confirm . . . you.”
Throughout the Scriptures, Christians are assured that there is a purpose in suffering. It’s something that every believer should anticipate as being a part of their lives. And why is that? In the words of Job’s friend Eliphaz in Job 5:7, “man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward.” In other words, EVERYONE suffers, sooner or later. So a Christian should never think himself or herself immune from it. However, according to God’s Word, there is great purpose in a Christian’s suffering. It’s all under the sovereign hand of God. And someday soon it will all end. It’s such truth that should help a believer to endure suffering in a way that is different from those who either don’t know or don’t believe what God has said.
And so, let’s consider some of the specific things that God HAS said. From James 4:12 we have this: “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.” In other words, Jesus suffered, so we shouldn’t think that we who follow Him will somehow escape it. But just as the end result of Jesus’ suffering was the revelation of the glory of God, so God is revealing His glory in and through us through the process of suffering. For “we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). And then this from Romans 5:3-5, written to us from the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul, one who suffered in incredible ways throughout his life: “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
Yet, suffering is hard! If it wasn’t, it wouldn’t be called suffering. It can stretch a person to the limits of his or her endurance. It can tempt one to give up on their faith and walk away. In fact, many who have professed faith in Christ have done exactly that. They are like the seed sown among the thorns in Jesus’ parable which He likens to the one “who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful,” or the seed sown on rocky ground, which He says is like one who “has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away” (Matthew 13).
But God would not have those who truly know Him to be such waverers. He wouldn’t have us to be like the waves of the sea that are unstable, tossed here and there by the winds of trouble (James 1:6-8). Rather, God is working to make us stable. In the words from the verse above from 1 Peter 5, He is at work to confirm us, to strengthen us in the faith. He wants us to weather the storms of life with a heart that is fixed. He wants us to be those who are not “afraid of sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes” (Proverbs 3:25). He wants us to show our trust in Him through the vicissitudes of life and be as those described in Psalm 112:7 in the following way: “He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.”
So does that describe you? Maybe you’re not quite there. Perhaps you’re in the midst of a storm that, as Martin Luther wrote in his well-known hymn, “threatens to undo us.” Well, if you are, hold on. Remember that the God Who sees, knows. And He not only knows, but He will also, sooner or later, as Peter says in the verse above, “confirm you.” He’s allowing this test for that very purpose. He is working to demonstrate a glory that lies within you, but that so often is hidden from the eyes. We have within us the hope of the gospel. It’s a message that can bring eternal life to everyone in our world. Yet, “we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you . . . So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:7-18).
May God confirm you in your suffering. May His glory be revealed in your “jar of clay.”
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