Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded

What does 1st Peter Chapter 4 mean?

In chapter 4, Peter urges Christians to be fiercely committed to fulfilling the purpose of our lives in Christ. Prior chapters made the case that we are a “holy people.” We have been rescued from meaningless lives and set apart from the world, in order to be used for God’s purpose. Since believers have these new, eternal lives in Christ, we must begin to think like Jesus, including Jesus’ way of thinking about suffering.

Jesus expected persecution along the way to fulfilling His mission on earth. Peter is clear that we should expect to suffer, as well. In fact, this is part of completing the mission God has given us. We should be ready and willing to suffer for Christ, as He did for us. In doing so, we will set the course of our lives away from sin, especially the mind-numbing sins of endless pleasure seeking.

The path of submission to Christ and the path of self-serving pleasure go in completely opposite directions. Those who still indulge in drunkenness, partying, and idolatry won’t understand or accept the Christian’s lifestyle. In fact, they will resent the fact that Christians refuse to participate. According to Peter, refusal to do what unbelievers do will result in criticism and condemnation from them. This is especially true when the believer is someone who used to commit those very sins, but has been changed by Christ.

But Peter offers a warning and encouragement: The end of all things is drawing near, and the Judge is coming. Instead of living for pleasure, we must be very careful to stay clear-minded and focused so that we can pray faithfully. We must strain hard to love each other well. We must share and serve and speak to each other with God’s gifts, with His words, with His strength.

Again, we should not be surprised when suffering becomes intense. Instead, we should look ahead to the moment when Christ’s glory will be revealed to all of the universe. We should see our current suffering as something temporary, which we can still rejoice in. Our pain in the here-and-now will contribute to that eternal moment of glory. So, instead feeling shame when we receive insults for being Christians, we should receive them as badges of honor that bring glory to God.

Peter concludes the chapter with a hard idea: God may use suffering to “judge” or discipline His children. This is not a punishment for the believer’s sin, which has been fully paid for through the death of Christ on the cross. Rather, this is in order to draw us closer to Him and away from all the destructive things in the world that might draw us in.

How should Christians respond to suffering? Entrust our souls to God, and do good works.

Chapter Context
Peter’s letter to Christians is about how to live in the world while suffering for faith in Christ. Thus far, he has assured Christians that their future is secure with God. We are His holy people, set apart for His purposes. Christians are called to live in submission to every human authority. Now in chapter 4, Peter writes that we should take Jesus’ attitude toward suffering and expect it in this life, avoiding mind-numbing sin while loving each other earnestly. God may use suffering in this life to refine our faith, but the end of all things is near.

Verse by Verse

Verse 1. Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,

As Peter has emphasized throughout this letter, Christians should expect to experience suffering in this life. We follow Christ, and He suffered enormously. In fact, it was part of His purpose, part of His mission on earth. If we follow Him and continue His mission, we should expect hardships, as well.

Peter writes that Christians should arm themselves with the same attitude toward suffering that Jesus carried. And what was His attitude? He understood that suffering was built into His purpose here on earth, so He expected it. As a result, He was not surprised when hardship came, and didn’t run from it. As Christians, if we are not prepared to suffer for Christ, and as Christ did, we will be surprised when difficult times come. We may feel betrayed. We may be tempted to run away from the purpose God has called us to. We won’t be armed with a Christ-like attitude (John 16:1–4).

The reference to “ceasing from sin” can lead to some confusion. Peter’s idea here seems to be that walking a path of Christ-like suffering prevents following the opposite path, which leads through indulging in sin. It’s not that Christians who suffer, or who are prepared to suffer for Christ, have become sinless and perfect. We have not. We will still make sinful choices. But we have certainly set the course of our lives away from the comfort, escape, and pleasures of sin and toward the readiness to be uncomfortable, to experience hard things, for the sake of Jesus.

It is also true, as Paul wrote in Romans 6:8–11, that those who have trusted in Christ for salvation have died with Him, in a spiritual sense, and have been raised to a new life in which we are free from sin’s power over us.

Context Summary
1 Peter 4:1–11 urges Christians to take on Jesus’ attitude toward suffering. We should see it as an expected part of fulfilling God’s purpose for us on earth. Those who willingly endure suffering for Christ set the course of their lives away from mind-numbing sins. This is true even when those who still commit those sins bad-mouth them. We must stay alert so that we can pray in these end times. We must keep loving each other, using God’s gifts to serve each other with God’s power in and through us, so all the glory goes to Him.

Verse 2. so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.

This concludes a thought begun in verse 1. Peter has said that Christians who have suffered in their bodies have ceased from sin. This is not intended to mean that Christians who have suffered, or who are willing to experience persecution, have achieved sinless perfection. We may still make sinful choices. What has changed is the direction of life for Christians who have physically suffered for Christ. Or, for those who have learned to expect persecution as part of our purpose here on earth. Such Christians have chosen the path leading away from indulging in sin as a lifestyle.

It’s a question of our reason for getting out of bed in the morning. What drives us? Christians who are prepared to endure struggles for Christ are motivated to do the will of God, even if it hurts. Otherwise, we would use up our lives chasing the fulfillment of our “human passions;” we would live to find pleasure, material possessions, and or status and significance in the eyes of other people (1 John 2:16).

Verse 3. For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry.

So far in chapter 4, Peter has written that Christians must take on Christ’s attitude about physical suffering. Jesus understood that grief was built into His purpose in this life. Avoiding suffering was not part of the mission. Those willing to suffer for Christ are choosing a path which leads away from sin. Finding pleasure, escape, and comfort is no longer what drives us. Instead, Christians see the point of our lives as doing God’s will, even if and when that brings us pain.

Now, Peter writes that his readers have spent enough time, in their pre-Christian past, doing what comes naturally to “Gentiles.” In this context, Peter is referring to non-Jews, but more generally to those who don’t follow the true God, such as pagans. For Christ-followers, the days of living for sensuality, sexual pleasure, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and worshiping false idols are over. If they had ever led such a life, those committed to Christ should see it as in the past and with no place in their future.

Notice again the difference. This is not simply some list of sins Christians must avoid. This is a list of addictions which entangle those who live for comfort and pleasure. Those who live for the will of God, with a willingness to experience physical suffering to accomplish it, set the course of their lives in a different direction.

Verse 4. With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you;

In the previous verses, Peter wrote that Christians must take on Christ’s attitude toward persecution. That is, we should expect it as a normal part of doing God’s will here on earth. Having made the choice to live for God’s will, to willingly endure what suffering that may bring, we no longer live to bring ourselves pleasure and comfort. Thus we no longer live for sensual experiences, sexual pleasure, drunkenness, partying, orgies, or idolatry. In Peter’s time, non-Christian religious rituals often involved all of those things. In this verse, Peter writes that the Christian choice, to not be depraved, actually provokes those who live for pleasure. Non-believers who indulge in sinful lifestyles will “malign” or “heap abuse” on us. They’re surprised, even offended, that we don’t join in. The believer’s choice to not participate in a wild, reckless, and excessive lifestyle of hedonistic partying and escapism actually insults them.

As in chapter 3, Peter’s comments assume that the world will notice the change which commitment to Christ makes in us. In 1 Peter 3:1–2, he pointed out that unbelieving husbands might be won when recognizing the Christ-motivated change in their wives. In 1 Peter 3:15, he says others will notice and ask about the surprising hopefulness of suffering Christians. Here, those living for sinful pleasures will notice—resentfully—that suffering Christians don’t join in the pleasure-seeking.

God intends for the world to see Christ in us. That’s part of the purpose He has for us as His holy, set-apart people.

Verse 5. but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

To live for pleasure, no matter what lines are crossed, is a common lifestyle for those apart from God. It’s true in our time, and it was true in Peter’s time. In fact, it may even have been the routine for most in Peter’s Greco-Roman era. In the previous two verses, Peter made it clear that those committed to doing God’s will in Christ, those who had suffered or were ready to suffer for Him, do not participate in such a lifestyle. It may be part of their past, but living for sinful pleasures has no place in the Christian’s present. Nor is it meant to be part of our future.

Self-control will not earn the respect and tolerance of pleasure-seekers, though. Peter writes that they resent Christians for their abstinence. They “heap abuse” on believers for sitting out the drinking parties and the raucous idol-worshiping.

And yet, God is paying attention. Pleasure-seekers will stand before God and “give account” of their lives at the final judgment. God—in this context, probably Jesus Himself (Acts 10:42; 2 Timothy 4:1; Romans 14:9)—is ready, right now, to judge the living and the dead. This is meant to include all people who have ever lived or died. Peter implies that suffering Christians may be abused, for now. Ultimately, though, they will be vindicated by God for their refusal to go along with the pressures of culture. We will be rewarded for resisting the urge to be accepted through pleasure-seeking.

Verse 6. For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.

Peter has written that unbelievers, who spend their lives seeking their own pleasure, resent and abuse Christians, who spend their lives seeking God’s will even at the cost of their own comfort. In the previous verse, Peter assured Christians that a judgment of all people was coming. Those who rejected Christ and abused Christians would give an account and be judged by Christ.

Verses 5 and 6 answer one of history’s most common excuses, as made by pleasure-seekers: “Why waste your whole life doing God’s will if you’re just going to be dead in the end? You only live once (YOLO!), so get all the pleasure you can get!” Peter insists that is not the case. There is another life coming, and there will be a judgment.

So, when Scripture says the gospel was preached to those who are dead, it means to those who have died after trusting in Christ. Their choice to live for God, to suffer in their bodies for Christ’s sake while alive, lead to their opportunity to live in the spirit in the next life even as God Himself does. Christians should be encouraged, and continue to encourage each other (Hebrews 10:24–25), that our suffering for Christ and commitment to Him is not in vain.

Verse 7. The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.

Peter is writing to Christians who suffer for Jesus’ sake, to those who have taken on Christ’s attitude that hardships for God’s cause are part of our purpose as His people. He now offers a perspective which is both encouraging and a warning: It’s almost over.

More specifically, Peter writes that the end of all things is near, or “draws near.” Everything necessary for history to come to an end has already happened. Messiah has come, lived, died (1 Peter 3:18), been resurrected (1 Peter 3:21), and ascended back to His Father where He reigns now over the universe (1 Peter 3:22) and is ready right now to judge all who live and have ever lived (1 Peter 4:5). Along with the other New Testament writers, Peter affirms that we are now living in the last days or end times. True, by God’s grace, it has been 2,000 years since Peter wrote these words (2 Peter 3:9). That span seems extremely long to short-lived humans (2 Peter 3:3–4), but the day continues to draw ever nearer. So, what is the right response to this awareness that the end of all things is near? Panic? Isolation? Indulgence in pleasure-seeking? Peter’s answer is that the most rational response is to pray. And, that prayer requires strong and clear minds. This is yet another reason not to jump into the mindless pleasure-seeking described in prior verses. Instead, Peter writes, we must be self-controlled, or alert, or exercising sound judgment about our choices. And we should be sober-minded. In this context, “sober” means “serious.” In other words, we should be careful about how we live. Our choices impact our ability to think clearly. It is better to be self-controlled, so that we can pray.

How necessary is prayer for Christians? It is crucial. How concerned are we about keeping our minds nimble and focused for the purpose of praying? That’s a harder question. What, if anything, is keeping us from thinking clearly and praying faithfully?

Verse 8. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

For the second time in this letter (1 Peter 1:22), Peter commands Christians to work hard at loving each other. The Greek word translated as “deeply,” “earnestly,” or “fervently” is ektenē, used to describe the muscles of an athlete straining to win a race. Peter writes that Christians should do this “above all.” A follower of Christ must make demonstrating the love of Jesus to others his or her first priority. This is always a requirement, but especially crucial during seasons of suffering.

Loving each other is also a proper response to the realization that the end of all things is near, as mentioned in the prior verse. Knowing that the Day of the Lord could come at any time should cause believers to double down on our commitment to each other.

Finally, loving each other in this way covers a multitude of sins. We need to be careful with this statement. This doesn’t mean that our acts of love for each other can earn God’s forgiveness. Nor does Peter mean to imply that we are paying our sins off through good works. That would contradict what Peter and other New Testament writers clearly teach: that our sins are paid for by Christ’s death on the cross, and forgiveness for sin comes only through trusting in Him.

Rather, the idea that our love for each other covers a multitude of sins relates to our imperfection. Christians are not yet sinless. We are not perfect. We have set the course of our lives away from sin, but we still fail to obey sometimes. We make mistakes, even when we mean well. Love for each other includes forgiving each other, overlooking past hurts, and building each other up when we fall. It is difficult for sin and resentment to flourish in a community rich in Christ-like love.

Verse 9. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.

Peter continues teaching how Christians should live in response to the understanding that the end of all things is near. History marches on towards a close, and Christ may return as judge at any time. Peter’s first command in this passage was to keep our minds clear and alert so we can pray. Next he told us to strive to love each other earnestly, as an athlete works to win a race.

Now in this this verse, Peter urges Christians to demonstrate love by offering hospitality without grumbling. Modern Christians tend to think of hospitality as having people over for dinner, or hosting a visiting missionary family. In Peter’s day, Christian hospitality was a much greater need and had the potential to be a great burden, as well.

For one thing, many Christians were forced to flee persecution. Often, this meant traveling with limited means. These refugees relied on brothers and sisters in Christ to share homes and food, as they passed through from one town or region to another.

Such hospitality could be risky. For one, those doing the sharing may not have had much themselves. For another, sharing your home with strangers could be dangerous if they weren’t who they claimed to be. Even legitimate believers could take advantage of a fellow Christian’s generosity beyond what was reasonable. Still, Peter reminds his readers—and us—that is how family loves each other. It’s part of our purpose as God’s set-apart people. We should embrace the opportunity to give that kind of sacrificial love, instead of offering such hospitality reluctantly.

Verse 10. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God ‘s varied grace:

Peter continues describing how Christians should live in response to the knowledge that the end of all things is near (1 Peter 4:7). Knowing that Christ could return at any time should affect our thinking. Christians should not excessively invest ourselves in a world that is passing away. Believers should not divert ourselves with whatever pleasures we can find to indulge in. Instead, we should manage our minds for effective praying and love each other deeply, including sharing our homes and food with Christians in need.

Now in this verse, Peter says we should take a very different view from others in the world about anything we might call “ours.” First, he implies that we must see whatever we have as a gift from God. After all, we have nothing which God has not given to us (James 1:17). Second, we should see whatever we have been given as an opportunity to serve other Christians. In other words, we should not view anything which is “ours” as off-limits for use in serving other believers.

A steward is one entrusted to manage the property of another. Every good thing we have is ours only by God’s grace and intended to be used for His purpose. To fail to use God’s gifts to us to serve each other is to fail to be a good steward. Wisely using everything we have to serve each other is part of fulfilling our purpose as God’s set-apart people.

Verse 11. whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies — in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

This passage is part of Peter’s teaching on how Christians should love each other “strenuously” (1 Peter 4:8). He has urged us to offer hospitality without grumbling. Believers are to see all that we have as gifts from God, available to be used for serving each other. In this verse, Peter widens the idea of those gifts beyond merely material things like food, homes, and money to gifts of words and service.

Like our material possessions, these abilities to speak and serve are gifts of God’s grace. So, they are likewise to be used for serving each other. Peter tells us to use them on God’s behalf, with God’s strength, and for God’s glory. In other words, as people set apart for God’s purposes, we are fulfilling His will by serving each other.

So when we speak to each other words of encouragement, we are delivering God’s words. When we sacrifice time and energy to meet each other’s needs, we are drawing from God’s own strength. And whatever glory may come our way for these things then goes right back to God. Our lives—our talents, dollars, homes, and helping—should be spent for His purpose and to bring Him glory.

Peter concludes this section by reminding us that God is the one who deserves glory and dominion (or power) forever and ever. And, He will receive it. The choice to use our lives to bring Him glory allows us to participate in the very purpose for which the universe was created.

Verse 12. Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.

Peter begins a new section of his letter, summing up and adding to what he has previously written about the believer’s attitude towards suffering. He begins by calling his readers “beloved” or “dear friends.” Peter certainly cares deeply for the scattered Christians of Asia Minor and, by extension, for all the believers who would read his words.

However, he again urges them (and us) to expect fierce trials, instead of being surprised by them. We should not see persecution as strange and unusual for God’s people (John 16:1–4). Hardships of all kinds will come. For these first century Christians, that would include intense political and social persecution for their faith in Christ.

False teachers mislead Christians, even today, telling us to expect only good days if we make God-pleasing choices. Peter shreds that idea, telling believers to expect just the opposite. In essence, Peter says to not judge God’s character or trustworthiness by the quality of our circumstances. Those fiery trials test our faith or, as Peter will write in a few verses, serve as a kind of crucible for the church to purify its faith.

God’s set-apart people should not be shocked when suffering comes our way.

Context Summary
1 Peter 4:12–19 reminds Christians not to be surprised even by fiery suffering, but instead to see sharing in Christ’s afflictions as something worth rejoicing in. We will be glad when Christ’s glory is ultimately revealed, and we are currently blessed because God’s Spirit is with us. At the same time, we get no credit for the penalties of our own criminal or evil choices, or for retaliating against those who hurt us. When we’re persecuted for doing good, God is able to ”judge” His people, to strengthen our faith in Him. He will judge much more severely all those who reject faith in Christ.

Verse 13. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ ‘s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

The previous verse warned Christians not to be shocked when suffering comes to them. Now, Peter gives a very strange instruction: rejoice. To say the least, the idea of choosing to rejoice in the face of hardship sounds strange to human ears. And yet, this is consistent with everything Peter has written up to this point.

Before we were in Christ, our lives were meaningless (1 Peter 1:18). In Christ, our lives have meaning and great significance, because Christ’s life has meaning and great significance. A day is coming when all of Christ’s glory will be revealed to the universe. His full worth will become obvious to all. By extension, our lives will be shown to be meaningful and worthwhile on that day as well. And to the extent that we have suffered for Him, we will have that much more joy and gladness on that day (Romans 8:17).

We don’t yet fully understand the significance of that moment—how could we? However, we do understand that it is the moment that all of human history has been leading up to. We take by faith that suffering for Christ now will contribute to our joy then. This allows believers to consider suffering for Christ’s sake a thing worth rejoicing in—even while we undoubtedly would prefer it to stop.

Verse 14. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

Peter personally heard Jesus explain the idea he presents here (Matthew 5:11). Previously, Peter urged Christians to rejoice when suffering for Christ. They will rejoice when Christ’s glory is revealed, to the extent that they have shared in His sufferings. Now Peter reminds Christians that it is a privilege—they are “blessed”—to be allowed to be insulted for Christ’s name. Humans might insult you, but God’s Spirit rests upon you. That fact is worth rejoicing.

It is a question of how Christians choose to see the reality of their circumstances. We can say, “I am being insulted because I am a Christian; this is a bad day. My life is off track. Where is God?” Or we can say, “I am being insulted because I am a Christian. What a blessing to be so closely identified with Christ that the world treats me the same way it treated Him. This is exactly what my life is for!”

It’s not about taking on a falsely spiritual attitude; it’s about correcting our perspective in the moment of suffering to fit our actual beliefs about who we are in Christ.

Verse 15. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler.

In the previous verses, Peter urged Christians to rejoice in the face of persecution. Believers should see themselves as blessed, to the extent that they experience suffering for the sake of Jesus. It is one way that our place with Christ is confirmed now, and it will result in more rejoicing and glory when Christ’s glory is revealed later.

Peter is quick to say, though, that not all suffering is equally honorable. A Christian who experiences the natural consequence of sinful choices, including being punished by the state for criminal activity, should not make the mistake of thinking he or she is suffering for Christ. No Christian is obligated to suffer as a murderer or thief or meddler. No Christian is required by God to suffer for doing anything immoral or evil. This is for a simple, logical reason: no Christian is ever told by God to do such things. Even if they themselves are being wrongfully persecuted, insulted, or falsely accused, Christians are called to good and moral conduct.

It can be easy to justify retaliating against those who kill other Christians, or who confiscate our property. But hurting ourselves by doing evil is not something we can boast about in Christ. Peter says we should not confuse well-deserved penalties for crimes with genuine suffering for Jesus’ sake.

Verse 16. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.

The actual word “Christian” appears only three times in the Bible: this verse, in Acts 11:26, and Acts 26:28. It’s entirely possible that the word was used as an insult by unbelievers in Peter’s day. He rejects the idea that being associated with Christ should ever be received as an insult, though. Believers must reject any shame for genuinely suffering for Jesus’ sake. Instead, we should boldly give glory to God, in the name of Christ, right in the middle of our suffering for Him.

It is an honor to carry the title of Christian, if it truly indicates our identity in Christ, and our place in God’s family forever. In a culture that hates Christianity and Christian values, this is a parallel honor to physical persecution. If we are different enough from the world, and similar enough to Christ, that the world hates us, it is a sign we are doing something right.

Verse 17. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

God does, in fact, judge His children on this side of eternity. That’s a hard idea for some of us, but it is what Peter is saying here. The writer of Hebrews also makes clear that our God is a Father who disciplines His children (Hebrews 12:3–17). We must understand this carefully, however. This is a not judgment for the purpose of punishing our sins, or making us worthy of heaven. Peter has made clear in this letter that Jesus was our substitute on the cross (1 Peter 3:18). He was punished for all of our sins. That judgment is complete.

The judgment Peter refers to here is for the purpose of purifying our faith (1 Peter 1:6–7). It is meant to draw us to trust God more deeply, to abandon our hope of finding satisfaction in anything apart from Him. It’s our faith, our trust in Him, which our Father values in us. He values it so much that He is willing to allow us to experience great suffering to help us grow fully dependent on Him.

Peter further makes a sobering point regarding God’s judgment. God is willing to allow His dearly loved children to suffer under his judgment, in order to purify and rescue them. Consider then, that those who fully reject faith in Christ, declining the gospel, will experience far, far worse.

Verse 18. And “If the righteous is scarcely saved,what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

Peter references Proverbs 11:31 to support his point from in the previous verse. God judges His children during life on earth, in order to strengthen and purify our faith. Those who reject Christ can expect much worse. Again, we need to be careful not to insert meaning into this passage. Peter is not saying that Christians are those who try really hard to be saved, and then just barely make it into heaven by their best efforts. We only make it into heaven by Jesus’ perfect effort and perfect payment on the cross for all of our sin (1 Peter 3:18). Peter is saying that eternal salvation through faith in Christ comes “with difficulty” in this life on earth. Our loving Father treats us as children who need discipline to learn to trust Him, to learn to walk in His way.

In other words, God calls us righteous in Christ, then uses hardship in our lives to increase our trust in Him, to make us more and more like Christ.

But what will become of the ungodly and the sinner? Christians may often think of themselves as being sinners and ungodly people. Our actions might suggest that. But as used in this context, Peter isn’t talking about believers; he is talking about those who “disobey the gospel of God” (1 Peter 4:17). So, if God allows the righteous in Christ to experience such hardship out of His love for us, what kind of hardship will come to those who reject God by rejecting faith in Jesus? The implied answer is that it will be much more terrible for them than it ever will be for us.

Verse 19. Therefore let those who suffer according to God ‘s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

How should Christians respond to suffering in this life, especially to suffering we experience for being identified with Jesus? Peter sums up much of his answer to that question in this one verse.

First, we must understand that sometimes it is God’s will for us to suffer. So far, Peter has revealed that God may use our hopefulness in the face of hardship to point others to faith in Christ. He may use our struggles for Christ’s glory. And He may use suffering as a kind of discipline to grow our faith in Him.

So, understanding that we may experience difficult times as a part of God’s will, God calls us to entrust our souls to Him, our faithful and trustworthy Creator. This is a declaration to ourselves, and the world around us, that we will not wait for circumstances to improve before we call God good. We will believe that our good God is caring for us through our suffering and into the glory of eternity.

We trust our souls to the One who created our souls and everything else. Nobody is more worthy of our trust. So what should we do now, while waiting for that day, even as we may suffer? What is the evidence that we are trusting Him? We give evidence to the world by doing good. Nothing speaks more powerfully of our faith in God through Christ than to continue to do good even as we suffer. When we choose not to spend our energy seeking revenge, or mind-numbing pleasure, we demonstrate that we are indeed a holy people set apart by God for His purposes.

End of Chapter 4.

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