Stand Up and Speak Up

DEVOTION 1 PETER STAND UP AND SPEAK UP 1 Peter 4:12-19 12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15 If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 16 However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And, "If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?" 19 So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good. NIV I just cannot break this statement apart for it is one continuous thought about suffering as a believer in Christ and the manner in which we should accept such suffering and the result of doing so. Granted we are not being burned at the stake as those believers were in the time this was written, at least not here in the United States. We cannot be sure if any believers are going through painful trials in other parts of the world for their faith. This again is the key phrase, “For their faith”. So for us believers in a free society where we can practice our faith openly we have nothing to fear from those in authority, yet in some sense we might be the recipient of some forms of persecution in a social sense. We might suffer at the hands of a mean or vindictive employer, but it only counts if that treatment is because of our faith, not because we are a lousy employee. We might be shunned socially by certain groups of people, even from groups within the church. I remember a time when at a group gathering of believers, a man was talking about how fast he drove at three in the morning on a new expressway and I commented or asked isn’t that sin. I was never invited to be a part of the group again. We cannot ever forsake the word of God, even when it costs us something. What good would it be to remain silent in order to not suffer? Would that be like denying our faith? It is far better to be faithful to God, to His word not matter the cost, for who here on this earth can give us eternal life? What man can save us from the wrath which will be poured out from the throne of God upon those who are considered ungodly? It is only through the blood of Christ that we will escape real suffering, that which can destroy our very soul, the second death. We need to trust God in all situations, in all kinds of suffering, whether physical, emotional, mental or even spiritual. That suffering can only be due to our faith, not because of any other reason, but silence in not an option. We need to stand up and speak up.