1 Peter 2.19-23 says— “For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:”
Every time I read this text, I regret it. I don’t mean that I disregard the Word. On the contrary. I see it as truth, therefore I get a little weak kneed. Personally, I don’t like to suffer. I would rather live life without conflict or pain. How about you? But the fact is, suffering is just a part of the race we are all on. Believers around the world are going to be beaten and killed for following Christ today. It wil happen just because they did good works in Jesus name. Being a disciple is much more than ‘Jesus loves the little children of the world, and has a wonderful future for me.’ Although this is true, we have so much more to deal with while we are here on Earth. Truly following Jesus makes life much harder in many ways. Choosing to follow Him, is truly choosing to suffer.
Hebrews 12 declares that my suffering proves I belong to Him. If I quit, that’s just proof I don’t really belong to Him. If though, I stick with Him in the trials, it shows His strength within my weakness. And this glorifies Him. And there we have it. The disciple wants nothing more than to glorify God. But the believer who doesn’t really follow, is caught up on getting attention, sympathy, and rewards. I woke up this morning with that very idea on my heart. I had a song on my heart as soon as I rolled awake. It was a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that’s entitled: “HIs Strength Is Perfect”. Ive taken the liberty of writing the lyrics for you here…
I can do all things
Through Christ who gives me strength
But sometimes I wonder what He can do through me
No great success to show
No glory of my own
Yet in my weakness He is there to let me know
His strength is perfect when our strength is gone
He’ll carry us when we can’t carry on
Raised in His power, the weak become strong
His strength is perfect, His strength is perfect
We can only know
The power that He holds
When we truly see how deep our weakness goes
His strength in us begins
Where ours comes to an end
He hears our humble cry and proves again
His strength is perfect when our strength is gone
He’ll carry us when we can’t carry on
Raised in His power, the weak become strong
His strength is perfect, His strength is perfect
This is the song I was awakened with and I’m positive that it was God who gave it to me. I am weary, just as much as those who follow Jesus around me. This world is not our friend, and becoming more hostile by the day against those principles and commands Jesus gave us 2000 years ago. But when I think of how hard my brothers in China have it today, or sisters in West Africa, or Iran… my mouth gets shut by God. I barely, if at all, suffer for Jesus, yet feel the tendency in my flesh to walk away at times. It is His strength, and His power, and His wisdom we need. His grace!
In our text I see that if I suffer for following Jesus, I must understand fully that this trial is not all there is to life. There is more to this life, which in essence is the life to come. 2 Corinthians 4.17-18 state this perfectly— “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” My focus must be on that, or I will get so bogged down in the nasty now and now I won’t be able to listen to the Spirit of truth as I should. What really matters and what I can really trust is what He reveals, and not what I feel and think in the moment.
I think it’s important to note that this is not about me. By the way, it’s not about you either. If we suffer, it is for others to see Christ in us and not us. Most don’t endure. The scripture tells us that few will enter in. That seems depressing, but God knows the true answer. I believe in the depths of my soul, as I have seen manifested before me, that a believer who is truly discipled has a much higher rate of endurance than one who is not. Everyone suffers, but we have hope. It is a confident expectation in God and His plan, which includes eventual glory. A non-discipled believer doesn’t know the blessings afforded them, they simply go to church, or made a decision as a child. They need the nourishment given by fellowship and teaching of the Word. In that condition of no discipleship, they lack the strength to endure, just as the world around them with no hope. They have a hope within called the Holy Spirit, but no exercising of this gift, will render them weak. The lost should see hope in us, Jesus in us, a future in us. And then want that for themselves.
I believe Jesus uses our very weakness, mingled by His power, to draw others to Himself. In 1 Peter 2, Peter isn’t suggesting we look for it, that would just place undo attention on ourselves and not Jesus. No, instead he is informing us that it will come our way naturally. ‘Just wait, here it comes now’. We live in a broken world flooded with suffering. So stop acting so surprised when suffering comes to our family, work, and heart. Rather, prepare yourself, by walking closer and deeper with the Lord.
Suffering isn’t fun. It isn’t anything we should long for humanly. But it is a gateway to experiencing power we can’t find in any other situation. It is an opportunity to know Jesus on a whole other depth. As Paul said— “…worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory”. Or as Peter said— “…because Christ also suffered for us…” We can know Him in ways not otherwise explored.
His Strength Is Perfect lyrics © Capitol Christian Music Group, Capitol CMG Publishing; Source: LyricFind; Songwriters: Jerry Dean Salley Jr. and Steven Curtis Chapman