Don’t you get annoyed when an overly-religious person spouts off some pie-in-the-sky, feel-goodism that sounds religious, but doesn’t seem to have any grounding in the real world?
Like when a church leader says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” when you are in the midst of a painful situation? This is one of those statements that’s great for church, but not so great for the battlefield of life, right?
Actually that statement was made by the apostle Peter (see 1 Peter 1:3).
He didn’t shout it in a church service, but in a letter to Christians who were on the run from their persecutors. Many of them had lost their homes and businesses, had to leave their hometowns, were separated from their families, and were having their very lives threatened. Peter didn’t just shout this praise, he explained its origin, too.
Over the next few verses he asks us to consider what a relationship with Jesus Christ would bring us, and then to put the positives and negatives on a scale—
The Positives
- God’s mercy
- New life
- Living hope
- Resurrection from the dead
- Secure inheritance
- An eternity with God in Heaven
- God’s power shielding us
The Negatives*
- Grief
- Trials
*
So whether we look at the eternal positives or the temporary “negatives” there is cause for rejoicing. When a Christian is in a difficult situation, he must remember this:
- This situation is only temporary
- This situation will ultimately bring glory to God
Weigh the positives and negatives and you will see that what you are going through now cannot even begin to compare to the glory of God that is coming! The apostle Paul echoed Peter’s words when he wrote, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18).
So keep your eyes on Jesus, and keep shouting your praise to Him.
Holy Spirit, please help me to look away from the temporary and keep my eyes on my eternal God and Savior.
Craig T. Owens 