Oct 20 2024

But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.

In this verse from 1 Peter, we are reminded that the suffering we face each day will soon come to an end. At the time the verse was written people were often martyred for their faith, just as people in some parts of the world today are martyred for their faith. Even if your suffering does not take this form, the Christian's life is difficult, and it can be easy to become weary. Peter's words are a comfort to us today.

Peter calls God "the God of all grace." This serves as a reminder that the Lord is full of grace, and our suffering does not change that. Clear evidence of this grace is the fact that He has called us unto "his eternal glory." We will enjoy His presence forever—a gift we could never have earned ourselves, but nevertheless are the beneficiaries of.

After we have suffered, the verse says that God will make us perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle us. That's a lot of promises! Making us perfect means that God will continue to sanctify us; suffering evidently plays a part in helping us live holy lives. Establish means that we will be rooted and grounded in the Lord. Strengthen means that the Lord will make us strong in Him, giving us the ability to follow Him, even when it becomes difficult. Settle means that we will have peace. Even if our own suffering may seem unbearable, we can remember that it is pointing to something better if we endure it unto the Lord.

Remember that God does not look down on us when we suffer. He is not watching us with indifference or wishing that we would endure it more faithfully. Much to the contrary, He stepped into suffering for our sake. He did not sit and watch; rather, He came to Earth and died on a cross for us. He endured tremendous suffering so that one day we could experience eternal glory in Him.

Dear Lord, thank you for the promise of eternal glory. I look forward to the day when I will rest in your Kingdom perfectly forever. Thank you for being with me and guiding me every moment of my life. Thank you for your precious love. In Jesus' name, amen.

Oct 19 2024

The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. :

In this verse from Psalm 34, we get a sweet reminder that the Lord hears us when we call to Him. He does not turn a deaf ear to our prayers but instead is always listening and showing His love to us day after day.

Do you cry to the Lord when you are in trouble? Sometimes I get bitter and don't talk to God, especially since He must have allowed my troubles to begin with. However, this is the worst thing we can do. When we get upset or when troubles come, we should go to the Lord right away, knowing that He is our source of strength and hope.

The Lord will always hear us when we call out to Him. He will not forsake us, and He cares about our pain. Although we may feel like our prayers are hitting the ceiling, that feeling is not the truth! He is always listening to us, even if He seems silent. If we struggle to see this, we have only to look to the cross to remember that the Lord loves us. If Jesus loved us enough to die for us, He certainly loves us enough to listen to our prayers now.

The end of this verse says that the Lord delivers us out of our troubles. Deliverance looks different for each of us, though. Sometimes it means total healing. Other times, like in the case of Jesus' apostles, it means death—and then entering into eternal life with Christ. The common denominator in all deliverance is the presence and comfort of the Lord.

In every circumstance, we can have peace because we know that the Lord is with us. He declared His love for us more than two thousand years ago, and we can rest in that love for all eternity.

Dear Lord, thank you so much for listening to us when we call out to you. Thank you for your goodness and mercy. Thank you for hearing me even when I struggle with believing or feel like you aren't listening to me. Thank you for your faithfulness. In Jesus' name, amen.