No Surprise

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.”

(1 Peter 4:12-16 ESV)

Many of us have an unhealthy tendency. We have a tendency to believe that the Christian life should be easy. We have a tendency to believe that, if we trust in Christ, no evil should befall us. And when it does, we have a tendency to believe that we’re outside of God’s blessing.

This mindset completely contradicts Scripture. The Bible tells us, in fact, that the Christian life will be hard. It tells us that we will face problems and difficulties. It’s not merely a possibility, it’s a certainty.

We see an example of this in the above passage. Peter tells us that we’re not to be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes to test us. We are not to think, when this happens, that something strange is happening to us. 

This occurrence is not unusual. It’s common. It’s something we should both expect and anticipate.

He then tells us to do something that’s completely contrary to our natural tendencies. He tells us to rejoice. We’re to rejoice that we share in Christ’s sufferings. We’re to rejoice because the Spirit of God rests upon us.

He’s clearly not talking about suffering we bring upon ourselves by our sinful actions. He’s not talking about the suffering we bring upon ourselves by our own stupidity. In fact, he tells us that we’re not to suffer as a murderer, a thief, or a meddler.

However, if we suffer as a Christian, if we suffer for our faith and for our expression of that faith, we are not to be ashamed. We’re not to be embarrassed or humiliated by it. In that case, we’re to glorify God. We are to rejoice because the gospel is evident in both our life and our witness.