"After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, the one who called you into his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will himself restore, empower, strengthen, and establish you." 1 Peter 5:10 CEB
This year really has been a crazy year for the Peters family, like so many others and so I wanted to share a bit. I'm sitting here in my driveway right now, just having taken my wife to the surgery center, and lots of things are running through my mind. I'm wondering how will I care for her, how things are going with the surgery, how the kids are affected, and just how this is all going to play out.
I found myself in a place of sadness and frustration. More and more, this world just doesn't seem to have anything to offer. As I was reading and thinking about what to do with all this, I came across 1 Peter 5:10 that says, "after you have suffered for a little while, Jesus Christ Himself will restore, empower, and encourage you". And that brought so much life to my situation because when life starts to beat me down, I am reminded of this truth:
My hope is in Jesus.
It can push me through the hardest of situations. I can remember times in my life where I've seen that happen, and it really is because that hope is not dead, it's a living hope. Jesus is alive now, and as the verse says, Jesus Himself will restore, empower and encourage you.
I don't know that this takes all of the uncertainty out of my mind around everything that's happening, but what I can say that I feel OK. That Jesus has got this. That I can only do the little thing, and Jesus can do the big thing.
So if you're in a place right now where the uncertainty is wreaking havoc in your mind, I hope that this will be an encouragement to you. I hope that my story and my experience here this morning would be a source of strength for you, that you would take one step closer to Jesus, the One who will restore.
I love that about the verse, that it doesn't say He could empower if he chooses to. No, Jesus says that He will.
That is my hope, and I hope that you will find your hope in Him in all of the things that you're going through. His mercies are new every day. The sun will rise again.
If you're feeling beaten down by the world, hang on for a little bit longer, because Jesus will restore. Watch for it, because He's going to show up.
I believe it. Do you?
1 Comments
I have followed New Hope/Cove Church for a while now. Only recently did I attend service in person.
(I got my vaccine) I appreciate your thoughts on your own frustrations about the current state of life, and encouraged by your trust in Jesus. Thank you for that. Hoping all turned out well with your wife's surgery. Will pray that she heals quickly.