HE'S STILL WORKING ON ME. 1st Peter 5:10-11 The God of all grace, in an act of sovereign grace, provided salvation and gave us eternal life as a gift when we put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior. Throughout our lives, He provides the grace we need for every trial we face. The title “God of all grace” reminds us that He daily loads us with blessings we don’t deserve because He loves us and knows our limitations and circumstances. We have been called to “eternal glory,” and even though we are not there yet, He will not fail or leave us until we arrive.
In the midst of all this suffering, the "God of all grace" is there to fully meet our needs. Trials will come for "a while." The devil will attack. Opposition and persecution will arise. The God of all grace knows when to step in to restore and strengthen us. He is able to keep us steadfast. Suffering is not an end in itself because it is passing. When we rest in God, His grace will work on our behalf through His strength. The pilgrim's suffering is temporary, meant to mature, establish, strengthen, and make us steadfast in the faith.
First of all, the God of all grace loves us. That should help us pass through whatever trials we face. He has also called us to “His eternal glory.” What that means is not described because it is beyond our finite minds to comprehend. We are then reminded that any suffering He calls His people to endure is for a “little while.” The suffering of believers is for a little while to train and prepare us for the eternal glory we will share with our Lord.
Suffering lays a firm foundation for the experience of living by faith. It is God's grace, glory, power, and dominion that bring this about, and hence the doxology from Peter is offered, to which all who have passed through this can add their own "Amen."
God knows you; that is why He called you to endure what is unnatural in a normal way of life. He wants you to know and show what is truly important to Him. In His own way, and through experiences that may make you wonder why you are suffering, God is displaying His grace, which will never stop providing what He knows is essential. Yet we wonder, what about today? How long will this last?
Well, consider for a moment what God will do. He will give you more grace, and some day you will trace the path of life from a wider perspective and see the value of all you endured. Your faith will grow stronger; trials won’t last any longer than is necessary to be corrective for your benefit. And you will become firm when, at last, you can turn and see all the good that testing produced. When the passions of pain burn, we truly learn what we could never have deduced without it. From the suffering, some will die, having never known why, until the day the big picture is seen.
There are four things written here that are involved in this training period, which will develop our character and prepare us for future divine service. To “perfect” a person is to do what is needed to bring maturity of character and give us understanding of the needs of our spiritual lives. To “establish” a person’s character is to make a person firm in faith and stable in testimony; helping us stand firm under pressure is a work of God’s grace. When there is suffering and persecution from the devil and the powers of darkness, we need divine “strengthening” that enables us to endure whatever is against us. Then we are able to be “settled,” firmly secured on the solid foundation of faith, which comes by the word of God and is in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Then this passage of scripture, which reads like a doxology, ends with praise to God, the source of every blessing His grace provides to save, train, and keep us. All praise is due Him, and dominion is His. He created, maintains, guides, controls, and rules over everything. He is the Most High God, with power and authority in heaven and earth, and He is our Lord and Savior.
This life is a brief time when we can shine as lights. One day we will look back on where we’ve been and bless God, who ensured we would mature, be established, and be strengthened through Him. In the future, we will stand on heaven’s tableland with a much wider perspective, and our praise will begin. “Lord Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine. My Rock and my Fortress, my Surety divine. My Gracious Redeemer, my song shall be now, ‘Tis Thou who art worthy, Lord Jesus, ‘tis Thou!”
The devil tried to have his way and to claim authority. But God’s people stand steadfast in the faith, living victoriously. From voices raised in heartfelt praise, their song ascends to God. “To Him be glory and dominion – Jesus Christ is Lord!” From angel bands and distant lands, this song of praise comes. And from prison cells, some voices join as the redeemed of the Lord raise their words and thoughts to honor God in the dark of night. “To Him be glory and dominion, In Christ is purest light!”
Children sing as they bring sounds so sweet that swell the chorus of the young, linking with those who want to tell the world above and here below of the glories of God’s grace. “To Him be glory and dominion, Our Lord is, O so great!” In quiet times of worship, or when thousands join to sing, whether those on sick beds or laboring hard to bring their praise and worship to the Lord in spirit and in truth, “To Him be glory and dominion, let praise for Him go forth!” Sometimes it seems there are so few that praise goes unnoticed, but then I stop to reconsider: everywhere these words are quoted, God is exalted, Christ is honored, and the Spirit has His way. “To Him be glory and dominion – Christ reigns eternally!”