Hebrews11:32-38 Victory in Suffering - Devotional Scripture

 

Hebrews 11 is often called the Hall of Faith. It lists many men and women who showed faith in God and His promises. The list goes on and on and then the writer says:

And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Hebrews 11:32-34

When I read these verses I want to rejoice because there was victory, power and deliverance shown to the faithful servants of the Lord.  And then I read on:

. . . and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment.  They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.  Hebrews 11:35b-38

I find myself wanting to experience the victory that shuts the mouth of lions and escapes the edge of the sword but I waver at experiencing the victory that comes from mocking, hardships and affliction.  Both are part of God’s plan for my life and both run through His fingers of love before they hit my life.

Those that experienced victory through affliction were able to stand firm in their faith because they had eternity stamped upon their hearts and they knew that what they would receive later far exceeded anything in this life. They didn’t fall into the trap of loving their life more than loving God. They didn’t get so entangled in this life as to lose focus on what is to come. God became their All-Sufficient One and that is something to rejoice in and desire in my own life.

Trials and sufferings are part of God’s plan and part of His grace. He uses suffering to test us to see if we really believe what we say we believe. He uses suffering to refine and purify us. Peter tells us the proper way to respond to suffering is to stand firm in your faith. Stand firm in who you believe in and what you know to be true about God. Then, God will be glorified and you will be strengthened and firmly planted in Jesus and His word.

1 Peter 5:10-11 God's Sovereignty in Suffering

After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 5:10-11

Peter ends his letter to the suffering church by telling them, even though you are facing hard times, even though you don’t understand your circumstances, even though you will experience misunderstanding and rejection; your God rules and He rules for your sake. Our hope is not found in our control, or our strength, or our wisdom.  Our hope is found in one place and that is in Jesus Christ who lived, suffered and died to purchase a Sabbath of rest for His people.

We get to experience that rest as we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God. We can rest because we trust the wisdom of God more than our own.  When we really believe His ways are better that our ways we find rest, peace and hope.  We can rest in His Sovereignty knowing our life is not out of control.  It’s out of our control but it’s not out of His control. As you trust in His rule as ruling over all things by His power and authority and as you believe His rule is executed in love and is always for the sake of his children you will find rest.

We can safely rest in His hands because we know He is in us, He is with us and He is for us.  As we filter our lives through the lens of God’s word we can rest knowing that God will not turn from His grace, and suffering or circumstances will not get in His way to redeem us.  He will finish the work He began in us and He will empower us by His grace, protect us in His love and guard us by His wisdom. To Him be dominion forever and ever!

1 Peter 5:8-9 Satan May Roar - Devotional Scripture

 

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.  Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.  1 Peter 5:8-9

This "lion" doesn't just want to paw at his victims and scratch them but he wants to chew them up.  Roaring is one of the lion’s strategies for catching prey - they creep up on the prey and when they are close enough they will let out a roar that confuses that animal and strikes fear into them. The prey then cannot "think" or react correctly out of fear and so is trapped and caught by the lion. You have an enemy that wants to take you down, wipe you out, make you miserable and nullify your effectiveness. He seeks to make you feel so discouraged, so defeated in your own walk that you won’t be able to effectively impact others for the kingdom. He wants to ruin your testimony.

The people who are not “devourable” are those who refuse to be intimidated by his roars because they know that the true Lion of Judah, Jesus Christ, has already come and defeated the devil and has rendered him powerless. They know that the devil cannot do anything to them because Christ resides in them and He is greater than the he who is in the world.

If you’re a believer in Christ, the Lion of Judah is in you. He redeemed you with His blood and He has given you power and authority over your adversary.  If you hear an empty lion roar off in the distance, then stand firm in your faith, resist the devil and he will flee from you and take all of his empty threats with him. You see, the “lion” doesn't dare go near the sheep that are close to the Shepherd, for the Shepherd has a big rod. When you let the devil know that you are “In Christ” and that his intimidations in your life are over, you are numbering yourself among the UN-devourable!

1 Peter 4:12 Don't think It's Strange - Devotional Scripture

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal which is taking place to test you [that is, to test the quality of your faith], as though something strange or unusual were happening to you. 1 Peter 4:12

Our suffering is not a failure of God’s plan or God forgetting what He promised.  It is the center of God’s will for His people to suffer for what is good, for His sake. 

Peter says we shouldn’t be surprised when trials and testing come and yet we are often not only surprised, but we are tempted to give our emotions more weight and authority than they rightly deserve. We have a great ability to trouble our own troubles. We get angry and push those away that can bring us comfort. We are tempted to doubt God and so we don’t run to Him for help. So much of the agony we put ourselves through in times of trial and suffering has to do with our disregard of God's faithfulness, or of His place as Creator. He is our sovereign Creator, with the right to do with us as He pleases. Yet He is faithful, and will only do what is ultimately best for us.

God uses those moments of suffering to pry open our hands so we will let go of the things of this world that we’ve looked toward to give us rest, peace and hope so that we would rely on Him and Him alone. It’s amazing thing that God would love you so much that he would not want you to remain in your sin in any way so He is pushing you and pushing you so you abandon your self-righteousness, your wisdom, your strength and you find your rest, hope and peace in Him alone.  He pushes you to let go of the idols of everyday life that you know will never satisfy your heart so you will find satisfaction in Him.  Suffering is part of God’s grace. It builds godliness into our lives. Once Jesus is revealed in this world all the suffering we have experienced in this world will fade away in the light of His glory and grace.

1 Peter 4:1-2 Arm Yourselves! - Devotional Scripture

Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.   1 Peter 4:1-2

There is a war out there and it’s being fought on the turf of you own heart. Make no mistake about it; the conflict with your flesh is one of the most hostile wars you will fight as a believer. Your flesh is in an all-out war against your spirit. We need to arm ourselves with the same mind as Christ because the way we think determines how we act and react.

To arm ourselves with the same mindset as Christ is to think biblically about ourselves and about life. As we daily yield ourselves to God’s will, we are arming ourselves with the same attitude toward sin that Jesus had and the Holy Spirit  enables us to overcome the  sinful desires that once ruled over us.

We are in enemy territory. We cannot expect to get through it unscathed. But we can get through it victoriously. We are not to spend the rest of our lives giving way to our flesh or to our fears. We are to live in harmony with God's will. When we make the most of each opportunity God gives us then we will invest the rest of our time here on earth in things that are lasting and satisfying. In light of what Jesus did for us; suffering unjustly in our place for our sin, we should hate sin, for it was that sin that nailed Jesus to the Cross. Soon we will stand before the judgment seat of Christ so make the most of your time here on earth by doing God’s will.

1 Peter 3:14-15 Santify the Lord in Your Hearts - Devotional Scripture

 

 

But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled. But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts.   

1 Peter 3:14-15

Don’t let your suffering trouble you, don’t allow your thoughts to run in all directions or start thinking about all the things that might happen to you.

God said something similar in Isaiah 8.  Israel and Syria had come against Judah. All the people of Judah were tempted to give into their fear and panic.

 

Do not say, "A conspiracy," concerning all that this people call a conspiracy, nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled. The Lord of hosts, Him you shall hallow; let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread. He will be as a sanctuary.   Isaiah 8:12-14

We are not to be afraid of what man can do us but instead we are to be afraid of what God is going to do. Jesus said,

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.                    Matthew 10:28  

As Christians, we are faced with many crises and are tempted to give into our fears and make the wrong decisions.  Instead of giving into our fears we need to sanctify the Lord in our hearts.  To sanctify the Lord means to worship and honor Him as our Lord and Savior. We need to allow Him to be the ruler our hearts.  We need to fear displeasing Him rather than fear what men might say about us or what they might do to us.  

 And lastly, we need to remember that we will be blessed when we suffer for doing good.  Knowing that we will be blessed should be our motive to not fear persecution.

 

And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, Who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.   1 Peter 5:10