No Surprises

“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.”
1 Peter 4:12-13 (NIV)

Nothing tests your faith quite like pain you didn’t see coming.

Peter writes this letter while the Roman emperor Nero is burning Christians at the stake—literally using their bodies to light his garden. And his counsel to believers in the middle of that horror is not what you'd expect. He doesn't say hold on, it's almost over. He says don't be surprised.

That's because Peter spent three years watching Jesus prepare His disciples for exactly this. In John 15:18, Jesus looks them in the eye and says plainly: The world hated me first. It will hate you too. Not maybe or possibly. It will.

So when the diagnosis comes, when the relationship fractures, when people get angry when you share your convictions, that's not a sign that God has abandoned you. That's a sign you're following closely enough to draw the same fire He did.

1 Peter 4:12-13 actually promises that suffering shared with Christ is suffering that leads somewhere. The same glory He was revealed in—you will share. That changes everything about how you endure today.

When the hard thing comes this week, don't ask, why is this happening to me? Ask how can I carry this in a way that points someone else to Him? That question turns your trial into a testimony.

It means serving your family cheerfully through that exhaustion nobody sees. Or perhaps you keep volunteering through chronic pain because showing up still matters. Suffering well is one of the most powerful sermons you'll ever preach. 

He sees every hard moment nobody else notices. And one day, what you carried in the dark will be revealed in His glory.

Prayer: Lord, thank You for the promise of Your presence in the midst of hard times. Forgive me for being surprised by the hard things when You told me they were coming. Help me carry today's pain with the kind of grace that makes people ask who I'm trusting. In Jesus' Name, Amen.