1 Peter 4:19 - Suffering

1 Peter 4:19

"Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good."

In my last blog we saw that Romans 8:28 is promise that all things will work for our good, including evil and suffering. I want to meditate a bit more on how suffering is actually a means of grace in our lives designed for our good. This verse says two important things about suffering. One, that suffering is according to the sovereign plan of God; two, that faith is what empowers us to endure suffering and still do good.

Suffering is probably the best way to show how strong our faith really is. It tests how much we really trust God. People who are strong in their faith endure suffering with joy, because they know that all things work together for good for those who are in Christ.

Paul prayed to God three times that He would remove the thorn in his flesh, but God chose to leave it there, in order to teach Paul a lesson. When we experience periods of suffering, we need to see that God, in his mysterious, sovereign way, may be trying to teach us something through our suffering.

Faith is what gives us the power to endure. But not only does faith empower us to endure suffering, it gives us the ability to endure with joy. But how? By trusting in the sovereign grace of God. Look at Hebrews 11:24-26:

24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.

Do you see it? He considered the reproach of Christ (suffering) better than riches in Egypt. How? He was looking to the reward. He trusted in the sovereign grace of God.

Look at Hebrews 12:1-2:

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Jesus endured the worst kind of suffering possible: He absorbed the wrath of God for sin. What motivated him to endure such suffering? The joy that was set before him! Jesus considered the joy of being seated at the right hand of the Father far greater than the suffering he endured on the cross.

God designs suffering for our own good, but is that His ultimate purpose? No. The ultimate purpose for our suffering is found in 1 Peter 4:16:

"Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name."

The ultimate purpose for suffering is to glorify God. We do this by enduring suffering with joy because of our faith in Jesus as all-satisfying and the future grace of eternity with Him. This brings honor to God because it highlights His self-sufficiency and our utter dependence on Him.

I want to note that the truth of God sovereignly working all things including suffering for our good and our joy and his working all things for His glory are not at odds. Both are by design. But we must take care never to make our joy more ultimate than God's glory. Both are being accomplished through God's sovereignty, but they are not on the same level. God's glory is ultimate, and not our joy, because God is ultimate, not man. Our joy must be placed under the rubric of God's glory. That is not to say, however, that they are not interrelated. John Piper says it best: God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.

Are you experiencing a time of suffering? Perhaps God is trying to teach you that you need to trust that He is in control. Maybe He’s teaching you to be patient. Or maybe He wants you to learn to endure suffering with joy by trusting in His sovereign grace. Whatever His plan, know that all things, including suffering, our designed for good for those who are in Christ. If you have embraced Jesus as Lord and Savior, all suffering in your life is for your own good. What a glorious truth!