Faithful Creator: Suffering for Jesus

Each one of us have experienced suffering. Sometimes, we've suffered for bad choices we've made or because of the evil decisions of others. But what about suffering for doing good things? Many have committed deeds of beautiful selflessness through the help of Jesus, and yet have received massive backlash solely because they were remaining faithful to him. The reasons for these repercussions are various, but for now, let's just examine how to respond to suffering when it relates to doing good things. For consolation and guidance, we turn to the letter of 1 Peter. This book in the Bible, while firmly planting many major topics in God's assurance, is primarily focused on preparation for suffering in the context of the Christian life. At the letter's core, all of its talk concerning identity, purpose, leadership and relationships is intended to prepare our foundation in Christ so that we can weather the storms that will approach us in our pursuit of good.

Here are a few verses that help us put suffering and good works in the context of God's will:

"For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God" (1 Peter 2:20).

"For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil" (1 Peter 3:17).

“Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good”‭‭ (1 Peter‬ ‭4:19‬).

Our faithful Creator's will is the pivotal point around which suffering and doing good are defined. Our opportunity is to entrust ourselves to God, who is both loyal and creative. He made everything and controls the ultimate outcome of everything. With that in mind, our trust in God's will is both helpful and eternally rewarding. He has the power and has the motivation to use it for our benefit.

Hope in Our Faithful Creator

First, let's examine the immediate helpfulness of this truth. Our trusting God is helpful because it is the fuel by which we can continue in good activities while suffering, even if the intensity of the suffering is directly related to the intentionality of our good actions (i.e. a prisoner for Christ being beaten each time he preaches the Gospel to his fellow inmates and the jailers). God has grace for us in this moment to be able to perform good actions now and he has what John Piper calls "Future Grace", which is the promise that we will continue to receive new waves of grace going forward. Our faithful Creator is present with us to be the strength we need. If we suffering when the cause is not good works performed for God, we are suffering without purpose. Suffering because of the intentional holy deeds we do is a "gracious thing" in God's sight, meaning that he gives the grace to head through the suffering and will abundantly reward us with the grace we need if we continue to rely on his grace. While your suffering may seem unbearable at times, know that God has all the grace you need and that he will continue to surround you with his grace as you earnestly seek his help, even in the most excruciating suffering.

Trusting our faithful Creator is also eternally rewarding because we know that even if we don't get see the benefits of our suffering for God within our lives (which is not a typical experience but still must be considered), we can rest in the assurance that our doing good will bring great payoff in eternity. Near the end of his letter, Peter gives several exhortations about being godly leaders and then drops this on us: "And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory" (1 Peter 5:4). This crown of glory contains all the great rewards from all the good that we performed because of the name of Jesus and its thorough examination is well beyond the scope of this blog post.

Here is the bottom line: It is helpful for us to know that our faithful Creator will give us mercy and grace in this life and bless the hard work that we do, but that the ultimate metric - the greatest symbol of wealth - and the most beautiful treasure lies in the crown of life which he is promised to give to those who love him. Let us continue to pray for grace now, earnestly expect Future Grace, and never forget the great reward that awaits us in eternity because of the earnestness of our pursuit to do good.