Personally Restored
Now the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will personally restore, establish, strengthen, and support you after you have suffered a little. 1 Peter 5:10
A mentor of mine once said, “If you want to test if a church is theologically sound, ask about their doctrine on suffering.” That was good advice. The Apostle Paul warned us about this in 2 Timothy 4:3, “For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires.” Being pulled into a prosperity gospel may feel good in the moment but will lead to disillusionment down the road. In the Lord’s kindness He blesses us with moments of joy and happiness in this current world, but never limit yourself to this world; it’s not our home. A utopian view of world peace where everyone loves and no one suffers will never be achieved until the appointed time when the Son of God returns to establish His kingdom. Until that time, none of us is free from suffering. In fact, we need to be prepared for its intrusion into our lives. Our Lord Himself walked the Via Dolorosa as a suffering Servant so that He could redeem us from the curse of sin on this earth. While this may not sound like good news, did you know that even in suffering your Father in heaven will personally restore and strengthen you? Take a moment to let the powerful words of 1 Peter 5:10 comfort your soul. The very Creator Himself promises to: 1) Extend grace to you. (Psalm 84:11) 2) Call You to Himself through Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 3:1-6) 3) Restore your soul. (Psalm 23:3) 4) Establish and anoint you. (2 Corinthians 1:21) 5) Strengthen you. (Isaiah 41:10) and 6) Support you. (Psalm 54:4) So how do we respond to suffering? By echoing the words of Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”Fix your eyes on Jesus!
Prayer
Heavenly Father, Thank You for walking the road of suffering on my behalf and for promising to walk with me through life struggles, in Jesus’ Name, amen.