Greetings, people loved by our Lord,
Today, let’s take a look at a word of encouragement from the epistle of Peter to the exiles scattered around the land:
In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,
— 1 Peter 1:6
As he addresses these exiles, Peter opens his letter by offering them a word of encouragement. In this verse, he references a previous statement as he says, “In this you greatly rejoice.” This “this” that he refers to here is from the previous verses. Peter is saying that because they are protected by the power of God, these Christian exiles should greatly rejoice:
who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
— 1 Peter 1:5
With that assurance comes a promise that they have an inheritance and a salvation that will be fully revealed to them in the last times. It is because of this that he tells them they should rejoice. However, their circumstances are not ones in which it is easy to rejoice.
The audience Peter is addressing is being hunted down by the Roman Empire and either killed or jailed. These first-century believers are being excommunicated from their Jewish communities for believing in Jesus Christ. They are going through all kinds of trials and tribulations.
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as exiles, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen
— 1 Peter 1:1
Peter is not unaware of the challenges these Christians face, as he mentions their trials while giving them this word of encouragement. Peter uses the phrase “even though.” He is asking them to rejoice despite the challenges they are facing. Despite their persecution, trials, and temptations, Peter is redirecting their focus on what God is doing in their lives. This kind of refocusing is also what the apostle Paul speaks of in his letter to the Romans:
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
— Romans 8:18
Paul is essentially saying he has looked at all the trials he has had to endure, and concludes it is still worth it if it means he gets to partake in the glory in the age to come.
For Paul, this is not a light statement. In fact, it is a very loaded statement in light of all that he had to endure:
Are they ministers of Christ?—I speak as if insane—I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, in beatings without number, in frequent danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked—a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in desolate places, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brothers. I have been in labor and hardship, in many sleepless nights, in starvation and thirst, often hungry, in cold and without enough clothing.
— 2 Corinthians 11:23-27
Despite all that Paul went through, his conclusion was to focus on the glory to come. This is what the encouragement from the apostle Peter is meant to do. Despite all the trials the believers who are scattered in fear of persecution and struggle had to endure, Peter’s encouragement is to focus on the salvation to be revealed in the last times.
Furthermore, Peter is very aware of the kind of persecution the believers are going through because he himself had to endure similar suffering. His words of encouragement did not come from a place of detachment. He was right there in the midst of it all. Peter was so attuned to what they went through because his very own death had already been foretold to him by the Lord Himself:
Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.
— John 21:18
Church history tells us of Peter’s death on the cross, how he was crucified upside down because he did not want to be crucified in the same way Jesus was out of reverence for Christ.
We see Peter’s awareness of the persecution that the believers faced in this statement of encouragement. Peter addresses five attributes concerning the trials that the believers face:
1. Trials are Present
Peter understands that trials are currently happening to the believers. He says “even though NOW.” Peter is not shying away from the fact that these trials Christians are going through are a current and present reality. This is the life they are living.
Such is the nature of the trials that Christians face. Our trials and temptations are not ones far off in the future that we need not worry about them. Nor are they far off in the past as we live in a utopia of some kind. The trials we face are happening now. They are a reality as we live in a fallen world, a world full of sin, temptation, sickness, war, famine, calamity, loneliness, anger, rage, fear, lust, sorcery, and all manner of wickedness.
This is just the reality of life in this world. This was something even Jesus Christ focused on in His prayer for the saints:
I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
— John 17:14-16
As Christians, without coming to this understanding that trials are present and right here with us, it will be very difficult to see God in our lives because our focus will always be on the issues of the world.
Peter’s solution for this goes back to the promise of salvation to be revealed in the end. As Christians, we need to be fully aware that trials are happening right now, all around us, and even in our own lives. However, we need not focus merely on the trials but instead focus on the coming salvation.
2. Trials are Temporary
Peter also states that these trials are temporary, as he says “for a little while.” As they focused on the arduous nature of the trials and temptations that these exiles had to endure, it would have been very easy for them to lose hope, thinking they were trapped in this lifestyle. It is for this reason that Peter reminds them that the trials they are going through are temporary. The hardships they would endure were only for a short time.
This is true for anything that is of this world. Such a statement was made very clear by the apostle John when he says that the things of this world are not from the Father and are passing away:
Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away, and also its lusts, but the one who does the will of God abides forever.
— 1 John 2:15-17
This is the kind of mindset that we need to have as believers. The trials we go through in this world are only of this world. We know that in the coming age we will not have to endure such trials. We know that we will be in the presence of God forever and will never have to shed a tear.
and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain. The first things passed away.
— Revelation 21:4
This is the kind of encouragement that all of us need. In focusing on all that is going wrong in life, it is easy to assume that this is the only life there is. In doing so, we find ourselves so focused on trying to solve the issues in the trials we are experiencing instead of investing in the age to come.
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;
— Matthew 6:19-20
The same solution is offered for those believers who are focusing all their energy on the trials they are going through instead of focusing on the things of heaven. Despite having to endure the trials, Peter’s encouragement is to focus on the salvation that is to come.
So far, Peter is essentially saying that trials are present and happening right now but are temporary because they will eventually have an end.
It is also important to note that this end can be a small end when we overcome a specific trial in the present time but also a bigger end when all trials will end, and we are eventually glorified into heaven.
3. Trials are Necessary
The next thing that Peter mentions is that these trials are necessary. He puts it this way in his statement of encouragement: “if necessary.” In saying this, he means that the believers he is addressing will not all endure trials in the same ways. But that every trial a believer endures is one that is necessary.
This is consistent with Paul’s teaching on how God works all things for good:
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.
— Romans 8:28
What he is essentially saying is that whenever a believer goes through a trial, it is ordained by God and that God will work the trial for the good of His own glory.
As we come to understand this, it is also necessary to remember that because God is sovereign and ordains everything that comes to pass, every single trial will be in such a way that we are equipped to handle it:
No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man, but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.
— 1 Corinthians 10:13
Peter then encourages the believers to rejoice even as they go through these trials because something good actually comes from the trial. This is very similar to what James says in his epistle:
Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith brings about perseverance.
— James 1:2-3
For believers, these trials produce perseverance. And perseverance is what is necessary to overcome subsequent trials. This is what Peter is emphasizing to the exiles. As they endure the different trials that come their way, they will become stronger in their faith.
4. Trials are Grieving
The last point Peter inserts in his encouragement to these exiled believers is that he is aware that the trials they are going through are grieving. Peter is not unaware of the effect these trials will have on the flesh. Trials wear people down; sometimes they leave them hopeless and broken.
Knowing this, Peter’s encouragement to the believers is that they should know that such grief might come their way. Instead of remaining in a state of grief, they should turn that grief into joy because of the reality of their salvation.
Peter later mentions to these exiles that they should remember that God cares for them and therefore cast all their anxiety onto God:
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
— 1 Peter 5:6-7
Peter was keen to remind the believers that the solution to their grief was not found in any other means. Rather, because of their salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, believers should understand that God personally cares for them, and because of this, all that grief should be handed over to Him.
In speaking to the Philippians, Paul suggests a similar approach in handling anxiety in a believer’s life:
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
— Philippians 4:6
Grief is a very real outcome of the trials that believers will go through. Therefore, it is very important that believers are reminded to focus on Christ when going through trials that might cause them grief.
5. Trials are Varying
The final thing that Peter mentions concerning trials is that they are varying. He states that trials are “various.” The variation in the trials is both in extent and frequency. These trials will be of different kinds, meaning they will have different natures. But also, these trials will appear with different frequencies. Some trials might appear more often than others.
This is also important for believers to note. If believers fail to know that these trials are not fixed and that they will not face the same kind of trials every single time, they will be unprepared for all kinds of trials that will come in all their variations and frequencies.
The end of it all comes back to focusing on our salvation. As believers, the one encouragement we have in life is that we are protected by God, and we wait in anticipation for the coming salvation when we will be glorified in heaven.
Let’s remember the words of our Lord as we go through trials in life:
Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.
— John 14:1-2
I pray this word encourages you as much as it did the exiled believers.
With love,
Paul
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