Faithful Christian Commitment and service
in the Middle East for almost 150 years The Nazareth Trust Healing in the Name of Jesus Since 1861
in the Middle East for almost 150 years The Nazareth Trust Healing in the Name of Jesus Since 1861
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1 Peter 4: 12 – 19
"Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.
So be happy when you are insulted for being a Christian, for then the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you. If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs. But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name! For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News? And also,
“If the righteous are barely saved,
what will happen to godless sinners?”
So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you."
We can see from this reading that as Christians we should expect to suffer, and what is more, the way we react in difficult circumstances can actually please God. This may sound strange, but as we aim to become more like Jesus, then it is natural that we also experience suffering like He did.
Often when we think of the sufferings of Christ, we might think straight away of the crucifixion. However, there were many times when Jesus was pained and hurt in His life on earth. We may not have been tortured for our faith, but each of us passes through struggles and painful experiences in our walk with God.
Jesus also suffered many different things. He was exiled from his home country and lived as a refugee. He was ridiculed by His community, continually baited with trap questions, tempted by the devil. He was plotted against by enemies, deserted and betrayed by friends, misunderstood even by those closest to Him.
He was falsely accused by His enemies, was accused of working with the Devil when all He did was good, He was accused, tortured and executed with no evidence against Him.
He also suffered from things around Him. He saw His friends suffer. His cousin John the Baptist was executed for his faith. His friend Lazarus died. He saw sickness and death all around Him. He bore the weight of watching a needy world reject Him. He saw people choose power and wealth over eternal life and exploit those around them.
We should not be surprised if we experience something of the same. We should expect that we too will be falsely accused, misunderstood, baited with false questions, have friends and family make fun of us, lose friends, be betrayed, plotted against, ridiculed, tempted, thought of as evil and perhaps suffer injustice or worse. We may also see these things happen to other believers.
Jesus’ main accusers in His life on earth were the religious leaders of the time. We should not be surprised if we are accused in the same way or see it happen to other believers. This can be incredibly painful. We may lose friends in the church or even be labeled as evil.
Of course, we should be sure that this is not as a result of sin in our lives, but we remember that Jesus found Himself in these situations and had done nothing wrong. We should expect to suffer.
So what happens if we are surprised instead of expecting these things? Firstly we suffer hurt. However, when we are unprepared for trials we can panic when they occur and lose our focus on God. We think only of our pain and ask “Why is this happening to me?”.
We may feel anger at God for letting this happen, or at others for treating us badly. We may even feel hatred for someone who has caused us pain. All these things distance us from God instead of drawing us nearer.
If we can face trials without being surprised we find three encouraging promises in the verses above:
“You will have the wonderful joy of seeing His glory when it is revealed to all the world”.
God will be glorified in your trials. And more than this, it will be revealed for all to see. This can be seen in the life of Jesus firstly, then in the apostles and disciples and also until today in people like Brother Yun, Corrie Ten Boom, Joni Eareckson Tada to name a few. Through their suffering and their trust in God throughout them, God’s name has been glorified all over the world.
“the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you´.
You will not be alone in your difficulties and trials. In fact, you will be closer to God than ever before, as he will rest upon you and be with you through everything.
“He will never fail you”.
Not only will God be with you, but He will never fail you. He will provide for you, sustain you and you can have confidence in his provision for everything you need as you need it.
So we should not be surprised by trials in fact, as we read in James:
James 1: 2 -4
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
Trials actually develop, shape and perfect us! We should meet them with joy, rather than surprise, shock and fear. God’s aim is for us to be perfect and complete, needing nothing other than His presence and provision.
Speaker: Christine Farah