Thursday, July 16, 2015

1 Peter 5:12 Devotional Scripture - Uncomfortable Grace



 
In Peter’s first epistle he is writing to people who are suffering.  His purpose for writing this letter is stated in the 2nd part of 1 Peter 5:12.

I have written and sent this short letter to you with the help of Silas, whom I commend to you as a faithful brother. My purpose in writing is to encourage you and assure you that what you are experiencing is truly part of God’s grace for you. Stand firm in this grace. (NLT)

There are moments in our lives when we are crying out for grace, not recognizing that we are getting it. We are not getting the grace of relief or the grace of release, because that is not the grace that we really need.  The grace that we really need is the uncomfortable grace of personal growth and change – Paul Tripp.

In grace the Father is prying open your hands so that you will let go of things that have come to rule your heart but will never satisfy you.  His is driving you to question your own wisdom so that you will find your understanding and rest in Him.  He is showing you the delusions of your control so that you will take comfort in His rule.
When we are suffering, the temptation is to turn inward and get self-focused and self-aware.  Our suffering becomes our focus. Suffering tends to make us forget are true identity. In this epistle, Peter gives these people a vision that is bigger and greater than the things they are going through. He calls them to consider the grace of Jesus Christ and he reminds them who they are; children of one true King.

You have a Father who knows you and knows everything about you.   He has written every aspect of your story.  He has set the direction of your life long before you took your first breath.  In everything I ever face I can say to myself, My Father knows this situation, He knows this circumstance.  He knows what’s going on with me and He is working out His purpose in my life.  He loves me so much that His transforming grace will not relent until He has completed what He is seeking to accomplished in me. 

 This truth is what brings peace to my life.  This truth is what stops me from being anxious or fearful.  God loves me and He is in control of every situation of my life even in the uncomfortable grace of growth.

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