Perfect, Confirm, Strengthen and Establish You
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Perfect, Confirm, Strengthen and Establish You
As much as we plainly and definitely don’t want to go through any tough times, God our Savior wants us to. We are filled with fears, tears, trepidations, pains, and sorrows — and God says we are not to worry or be anxious, but to cast all our cares upon Him, for He cares for us.
We know we can’t conquer any of these obstacles in our weakness. We moan that it’s useless for us to even try. We’re into troubles clearly over our head. Why!? The apostle Peter experienced more than his share of troubles — and he realized why. 1 Peter 5:10 explains,
And after you have suffered for a little, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.
Then, Peter further clarifies this truth, by adding in 1 Peter 5:12,
This is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it!
This is grace? Isn’t grace defined as the unmerited love and favor of God for us? What’s so loving about making us experience so much trouble? Where’s the “favor” of God for us? It’s hard to feel favored in the middle of so many sorrows and pains. But, Peter did and it helped him to grow stronger in a true faith.
Just a few bits of the favor Peter experienced can include the following incidents. In Matthew 14:22-33, it tells of the disciples crossing the Sea of Galilee in a storm and seeing Jesus walking to them. The disciples were afraid, but Peter wanted to walk on water also. Jesus said okay and Peter started out, but began to sink in fear of the waves. In grace and favor, Jesus saved him. We are saved as we call out to Jesus.
Then in Luke 22:31-32, at the Lord’s Supper, Jesus tells Peter that Satan wants to sift him like wheat, but that Jesus had already prayed for Peter, so that he will be strengthened. Jesus knows our troubles ahead of time. Romans 8:34 assures us, “Christ Jesus is He who… intercedes for us.” Knowing that Jesus also prays for us is experiencing His grace.
Luke 22:54-62 tells us of when Peter was so afraid for his life that he denied knowing Jesus three times. Jesus forgave Peter for denying Him. What a humbling experience of grace. We also are forgiven for our failings. Through all these experiences, Peter was being strengthened in the true faith. He became so strong that when he was brought to the Jewish Council for preaching about Jesus, he boldly told them in Acts 5:29, “We must obey God rather than men.”
Peter had been told by Jesus that some day he would be bound and suffer death because of his faith. (John 21:18-19) That can be a fearsome prophecy. But, Peter became so strengthened by grace, he was willing to let God’s will be done. Tradition says he was crucified upside down during the reign of Emperor Nero.
The favor of God was with Peter all the way purifying and strengthening his faith. When faith has been tested and proven to be faith, one becomes perfected, confirmed, strengthened and established. So, Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:7,
That the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
God’s grace makes our faith more precious than gold. So we say, “Hallelujah! Lord Jesus, You suffered greatly that we might have eternal life. Strengthen us and keep us safe by Your grace that we may live to Your glory.”
Love,
Margaret
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A Christian devotional to glorify the LORD of lords and God of gods
This is the day which the LORD has made;
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24
The word of the LORD is tried;
He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
Psalm 18:30
Sing for joy in the LORD, O you righteous ones;
Praise is becoming to the upright.
Psalm 33:1
How blessed are those who dwell in Thy house!
They are ever praising Thee.
Psalm 84:4
Just as a father has compassion on his children,
So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.
Psalm 103:13
Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Psalm 107:1
Glory in His holy name;
Let the heart of those who seek the LORD be glad.
Psalm 105:3
Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that
I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:12
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