Tag Archives: 1 Peter

Morning Meditation

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Faith During Trial

We are meditating our way through First Peter. Today we are going to think through 1 Peter 1:6-7.

“In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials so 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.”

We learned in the previous few verses that our inheritance is reserved and guarded for us in heaven, and we ourselves are protected by the power of God through faith. These are the strong and encouraging promises that cause the joy he writes about in verse 6. But it’s interesting to note that this joy is present even though they are going through difficult trials.

We too are not immune to the trials of life. Some are just hardships that are embedded in life itself, and some may be coming because we are Christians and carry His reproach with us. In spite of the hardships, wherever they come from, we can still rejoice because the promises are so tremendously great.

You might be thinking, “my troubles are so difficult that I have a hard time rejoicing even though God’s promises are powerful and encouraging.” Discouragement is one of the fiery darts of the devil and the defense against those is the shield of faith. The author of a devotional I’ve been reading lately says that we must pick up our shield and use it. What that means to me is that I need to talk to myself as David recorded in Psalm 42, “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me?” Put your faith to work by grabbing the promises of God, meditating on them, and then claiming them once again for yourself. Take the promises in verses 3-5 and dwell on them until your heart begins to rejoice in the surety of God’s power to protect both our inheritance and ourselves until the final day.

Kept by the Power of God

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In the devotional today I want to move us a little further in our meditation on 1 Peter, this time focusing on verse 5. Here are the key parts of verses 3-4 along with verse 5.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again … to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 

Last time we learned that a Christian has been born again to an inheritance that is kept and reserved in heaven for us. But we stopped before the end of the sentence. Verse 5 goes on to let us know that not only is our inheritance kept in heaven, but we are kept and protected by the power of God.

We need to stop and think about how much power we’re talking about here. We say God is all-powerful, omnipotent. It is that almighty power that protects us. Do you think there is anything that can overpower God so that our protection would be at risk? I don’t think so!! 

How are we protected? Our passage tells us: we are protected* through faith. But it is not a faith in faith. It is faith in the unfailing promises of God who has called us and saved us. The protection through God’s power has a goal, a target. It is for a salvation that is prepared and ready to be revealed. When? In the last time. We don’t know how far away that last time is, but we do know that our salvation, just like our inheritance, is protected and guarded until that day when it is fully revealed when Christ returns. 

These are promises that each one of us should take hold of by faith. They bring assurance resulting in our present joy. 

*When I think of God’s protection, I think of these words from the hymn Day by Day: “The protection of His child and treasure is a charge that on Himself He laid.” Someone has to protect us and God took that responsibility upon Himself.