Read 1 Peter 5:6-11

The book of 1 Peter was letter written to the churches of Asia Minor or Northern Turkey around 61-64 A.D. It was a letter written by Peter, who was imprisoned in Rome awaiting what would be his eventual execution, to Gentile believers who were experiencing persecution from Rome AND from the Jewish community around them. It is a letter that speaks to our identity in Christ, our inheritance in Christ and how we should live in Christ. It was a letter meant to encourage more than instruct, and no verse better encapsulates that theme than verse 10 of chapter 5:

“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”

These believers were indeed suffering, Peter was suffering, and yet after encouraging them to remain strong and to endure, Peter ends his letter with THIS PROMISE. That God HIMSELF would show up in the midst of their trials and do FOUR THINGS that couldn’t come from anything or anyone else.

1. Restore – the word carries both an image of mending or putting something back together and of bringing something/someone near that had been far off. It is a promise that in EVERY place that we feel broken, God HIMSELF, will show up and mend us, put us back together. A promise that in the moments when we fell far away from God, that He will show up and bring us near once more to Himself.

2. Confirm – the verb conveys the idea of making something stable or secure. It is a promise that in EVERY doubt and insecurity we carry, God intends to give us security, stability, and ultimately faith.

3. Strengthen – the word is exactly what you think, to make something strong that was weak. God promises that in midst of our trials, He will show up and will strengthen every place that we are weak: in our self-control, our discipline, our service, our words, our faith, our love… the list could go on, but the good news is that Peter doesn’t qualify this promise with a list. Instead, it is meant to apply to EVERY weakness we find in ourselves that we cannot overcome.

4. Establish – painted a picture of laying a foundation, of setting something somewhere that it could not be moved from. It is a beautiful bookend to the promise of restoration. God will not only bring us close but He will set us before Himself like a foundation upon which He intends to build and we will not be moved from Him.

This verse has been balm to my soul for the past two weeks, and I believe it is a vivid reminder of what flowed from the work of the Cross. God, Himself, has already come once and upon the cross of Calvary, He has brought near all those who were far from Him. He has let his disciples touch the scars and recast the nets, giving security to those who doubted Him and even denied Him. He has strengthened the weak, using common men and women to carry the treasure of His Gospel and through that He has set a foundation in every corner of the earth, building upon it a body, a temple, and a kingdom that is open to every tribe and nation.

Easter is the proof-text for this promise that Peter delivers to the churches of Asia Minor. If God Himself came once to do these things, then how could we not believe and trust that He will show Himself once again in our trials, in our sufferings.

My encouragement to you today as you remember the Cross and look toward the resurrection is to let this promise sooth whatever corners of your soul that are weary and worn.Quote this verse, pray it, memorize it, and let Easter be a reminder that God Himself has come ONCE and fulfilled ALL of these things… and now He has promised to come once again into YOUR life and do the same thing.

“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” – 1 Peter 5:10