The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Peter 4:19,
"So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good."
Hold on a minute here! I thought I heard that TV evangelist say that since God loves us he doesn't want us poor, he doesn't want us sick, he only wants to bless us. (Of course I need to sign up with him and send in my faith-promise pledge of $100 or more to get all the blessings...)
How often we have heard that God has a wonderful plan for our lives, and if we do all the religious things just right we will find ourselves reaping the best life has to offer, in terms of financial success, marital bliss, kids out of trouble and through college. This blessing is often defined as God getting us that job we really wanted, or that raise or promotion. How often it is defined by getting just the right girlfriend or boyfriend, or the hot sports car, the freshly minted new smart phone, the big beautiful new home with a very attractive mortgage rate...
So, what is this about continuing to do good and suffer... according to God's will? Peter didn't seem to get that message that is so prevalent today. He says that people, who are already doing good in their relationship with God may suffer, "according to God's will"!
There is a lot of poor religion, a lot of poor theology that is being passed around in the church these days. We need to find our knowledge of God and his purposes for us in the pages of Scripture. As an apostle of Jesus Christ, Peter knew what he was talking about.
In what must have been a shout out to Proverbs 3:11-12, in his letter to the Laodecians, Jesus said, "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline." God does cause us to suffer according to his desires for us and his plans for us. He is stretching us spiritually and/or possibly using our suffering in the lives of others. The writer of Hebrews goes into this in chapter 12.
"So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good."
Hold on a minute here! I thought I heard that TV evangelist say that since God loves us he doesn't want us poor, he doesn't want us sick, he only wants to bless us. (Of course I need to sign up with him and send in my faith-promise pledge of $100 or more to get all the blessings...)
How often we have heard that God has a wonderful plan for our lives, and if we do all the religious things just right we will find ourselves reaping the best life has to offer, in terms of financial success, marital bliss, kids out of trouble and through college. This blessing is often defined as God getting us that job we really wanted, or that raise or promotion. How often it is defined by getting just the right girlfriend or boyfriend, or the hot sports car, the freshly minted new smart phone, the big beautiful new home with a very attractive mortgage rate...
So, what is this about continuing to do good and suffer... according to God's will? Peter didn't seem to get that message that is so prevalent today. He says that people, who are already doing good in their relationship with God may suffer, "according to God's will"!
There is a lot of poor religion, a lot of poor theology that is being passed around in the church these days. We need to find our knowledge of God and his purposes for us in the pages of Scripture. As an apostle of Jesus Christ, Peter knew what he was talking about.
In what must have been a shout out to Proverbs 3:11-12, in his letter to the Laodecians, Jesus said, "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline." God does cause us to suffer according to his desires for us and his plans for us. He is stretching us spiritually and/or possibly using our suffering in the lives of others. The writer of Hebrews goes into this in chapter 12.
I think it best we go to the Scriptures to see what the Lord really is doing today. Trust me, Peter knew better than the voices today that are attempting to fill their coffers and gain large followings.
A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
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