We Belong to Him Now

Before you start todays devotional, ask the Lord to use it to grow you up in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

When life is easy, you risk the danger of drifting, thinking every blessing in life is owed to you. But suffering gives life a new direction. God puts us through tests that might draw us to Himself and give us a new direction and drive for life. Such is the purpose of suffering.

God allowed Jesus to endure suffering. He experienced pain when He suffered for our sins and was put to death in the flesh (3:18) to bring us to God. He was “in all points tempted as we are” (Hebrews 4:15). He knew what it was like to feel hurt, shed tears, and be brokenhearted. Perfectly human, He died in that human body.

But then He came back from the dead in a glorified body, completely devoted to serving His Father, in full and free access to God and all creation. We belong to Him now. We’re identified with Christ. He has made every arrangement for you not to live in sin today. Let that mind, that thought be in you which is in Christ Jesus, and live a holy life for God today (see Philippians 2:5).

If you are living comfortably in sin today, something is wrong. A child of God’s new nature longs to please Jesus Christ. You can’t live in sin and have fellowship with God (see 1 John 1:6). There is no shortcut to pleasing Him. Rules don’t work, and sin will keep you at arm’s length from Jesus. Sometimes the only thing that will make you draw near to God and keep you far from sin is suffering. You realize you’d be foolish to spend your life as before. Life is short; time is fleeting, and we have such a short time to serve Him and love Him before we stand before Him and have our lives evaluated.

When the gospel is preached, two things happen. Some people accept it and will live for God throughout eternity. Others reject the gospel and are dead in their sins and to God throughout eternity; they have no relation to Him whatsoever.

Let’s be honest—as believers, we just barely make it into heaven. We are saved and called righteous only by Jesus’ death and our faith in Him. We will try to live a life that brings God glory, and our lives will be evaluated. Just imagine if God is going to judge His own, what about the lost world which rejected hearing or obeying the gospel? How will they stand before Him? Those who don’t know Him as Savior will take responsibility for their own sin and take their chosen route to an eternity without God. On that day, God will bring this world to a standstill.

Peter urges us several times to be “sober-minded”—it means to be an intelligent Christian, someone who knows all they can about the Bible (see Matthew 10:16). We should also pray with anticipation, with the expectation of Jesus Christ’s coming. We should talk to Him now. Later, at the judgment, He’s going to talk to us.

“Hard times are ahead,” Peter warns. The people to whom Peter was writing were moving into a hurricane of persecution. “Many of you will give your life for Jesus Christ. Don’t think it strange when these ‘fiery trials’ happen.”

“But rejoice,” he writes. In suffering? Yes, because God has a purpose in it. Suffering prepares us for Jesus Christ’s coming (see Romans 8:17). In the end, commit your souls to your faithful Creator and do all the good you can.

Do you really trust Him? Do you worry about your soul when you go to sleep at night? If you know Him as Savior, you can sleep in peace. Even when trouble comes to you, even when you are called to go down through the valley, you can go, knowing He will take care of you.

1. What does it tell us about God that, no matter the suffering we are going through, He has a purpose for it?

2. What are some ways you can practice being “sober-minded” in your life right now?

3. If you could go back to the suffering believers who received this letter from Peter and ask them if their suffering had been worth it, what do you think they would say?

Additional Resources

Listen to Dr. J. Vernon McGee's complete teachings on 1 Peter 4:1-4, 1 Peter 4:1-12 and 1 Peter 4:12-19.