A majority of people polled in the United States think the nation is on the wrong track. I have also sensed feelings of disaffection in other parts of the world, particularly in many countries in Europe. Economists tell young people that they will be the first generation that will have to settle for a lower standard of living than enjoyed by their parents. Social mores are in a tailspin. Politicians preside over deadlock, their supporters vilifying their opponents with vitriol. The Middle East is on fire. Russia is flexing her muscles. Iran and North Korea are pursuing nuclear weaponry. Violence rules in inner cities. Drug addiction is reaching epic proportions. Migrant populations are on the march.
Many followers of Jesus are experiencing the same sense of unease and dread as the general population. Some are in danger of giving way to despair and fear and many are looking for a clear statement of encouragement and assurance as they face uncertain times.
The Apostle Peter wrote his first epistle about his own difficult and dangerous days. He was addressing the dire circumstances that was confronting his contemporaries in a surprisingly forthright manner: “Dear friends do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Pet. 4:12). Peter acknowledges that their lot is painful but does not regard it as unusual as he links their earthly sufferings to those of Christ. We live in a fallen world that is far from ideal. However, He writes with a consciousness that God is still on the throne but His people are still on the earth, and that the God of all grace is working from the throne toward the eternal glory of the “called.” That is certainly reassuring in these times.
By Peter approaching it this way—that He’s Still on the Throne—it leads to a more stable response to suffering when it arrives. Peter does not concentrate on the suffering aspect here but rather on the activity of God in the life of the suffering believer. And what gracious activity he outlines for us! The closing benediction of the epistle speaks volumes: “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” And then he adds, “I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. STAND FAST IN IT” (1 Pet. 5:10, 12).
First, stability is predicated on the presence of the “God of all grace” (1 Pet. 5:10). I love this expression, even though it doesn’t do justice to what Peter actually says. The word all here means many and varied types of grace. Every kind of grace for every kind of problem. There is nothing we will ever be called for that God does not have the right grace for us. I am not a practical person when it comes to fixing things, but I do enjoy periodic visits to hardware stores. Wandering along rows and rows of ingenious pieces of equipment, I marvel at the variations of size, material, shape, and purpose in which such common items as nails and screws are manufactured.There is a nail for every kind of hole and a screw for all conceivable fittings. God’s store is like this. He has every kind of grace for every kind of situation!
Second, stability is found in “God’s mighty hand upon our lives” (1 Pet. 5:6). The Old Testament character Ezra is one of my heroes! He faced enormous odds and challenging situations, often with an understandable degree of trepidation, but he always came back to a fundamental belief that “the good hand of his God was upon him” (Ezra 7: 9). Ezra’s consciousness that God’s hand on his life was “good,” married to Peter’s understanding that God’s hand is “mighty,” paint a picture of the supporting, holding, protecting, empowering, nurturing, restraining, directing, and yes, stabilizing hand of the Lord being always ours.
Third, stability is found in the recognition of our calling to “Eternal glory in Christ” (1 Pet. 5:10). Peter talked much about being called and some of his teachings may have been a little hard for suffering people to accept. But there is one aspect of God’s call that all of us can appreciate and anticipate. It is the promise that the consummation of our call to follow Jesus is “eternal glory.” To know that when my temporal life has ended, I will embark on a new life with eternal dimensions, and then to recognize that this never-ending state will indeed be “glorious,” sweetens many a bitter cup of suffering and serves to make us “strong, firm and steadfast” as the God of all grace works in our lives. This, Peter assures us, “is the true grace of God” and we are to “stand fast in it” (1 Pet. 5:5:12).
This excerpt is from He's Still on the Throne by Stuart Briscoe. Used by permission of CLC Publications. May not be further reproduced. All rights reserved.
