To those who are Suffering

 Read 1 Peter 1.

The book of 1 Peter was written to Jewish followers of Jesus who left Israel due to persecution.  They fled to the northern Roman Provinces which comprise modern day Turkey.  They experienced the loss of their homeland, their homes, their friends, etc. only to discover that the Roman government under Nero was committed to ridding the Empire of Christians.

The teachings and principles of 1 Peter may be applied to most any suffering that we did not bring on ourselves.  If one suffers due to something they did wrong, then that is another story.  This book is targeted for those believers in Jesus who are experiencing adversity when it was not their fault.  All of us endure times of relational misunderstandings, economic turn downs, the death of a loved one, and so on; things that are totally out of our control.  No one signs up for such suffering.  It will find you.

Question: What has God provided for those who are suffering? (vv.3-5)
Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Peter reminded his readers of four unchanging provisions from the Lord.
1. We have God's great mercy.
Mercy is not receiving what we deserve.  I the midst of trials, we are tempted to think, "I deserve better than this."  But the truth is if we got what we deserved we all would be in hell today.  God's mercy sustained these persecuted followers of Christ through it all.

2. We have a living hope.
All religions and philosophies of this world are based upon man-made ideas.  The persons who made them up are now dead.  Their ideas are dead end ideas.  And, those who place their hope in those ideas are going to be sorely disappointed at the end of their lives.  There is no hope in them.  Christians are unique in our beliefs.  Our hope is a living one, based upon our resurrected, living Savior.  That hope will only get better and better in our future.

3. We have an eternal, unchanging inheritance.
Believers are part of God's family.  All that belongs to Christ is ours.  One day we will leave all our earthly possessions behind.  Our inheritance and what God has in store for us is much more than we can imagine.

4. We have God's power guarding us.
We are being kept by God for that day when we will receive our full inheritance in Christ.  We did not save ourselves and we cannot be good enough to keep ourselves in the faith.  The Holy Spirit has sealed us until the day of our redemption out of this world.

It is knowing and being assured of these four things that Peter can write, "In this you rejoice" (v.6).  Such times of suffering are temporary and are tests of the genuineness of our faith (v.7).