God's Grace

The God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

1 Peter 5:10

It's ironic that this is today's Bible verse. Or maybe not so ironic as much as it is planned. You see, I am in the midst of reading the Story of Job and still find it amazing what Job went through and yet never renounced his love for God. How many of us are willing to do that? I would hope I would have the patience of Job, but do I want to be tested, heck no.

You see, we are never without God, although sometimes God is without us. While we may at times turn our backs on him in times of pain and sorrow, he never stops loving us, and in time, will restore us.

One of the best examples of this I saw over the beginning of the summer in Egypt. One of the largest, most wealthy companies in Egypt is owned by a devoutly Christian family. Time and time again the government places restrictions upon them, trying to limit their success. But time and time again, the family prospers, also bringing prosperity to other Christian families as their share their success.

It is through their faith in God and their steadfast resolve they are successful and rewarded. It would be easy to give in, convert, or just give up, but instead they stick to their Christian principles and as a result are rewarded in this life and no doubt in the next. It is by God's grace and his loving arms we are rescued from suffering and returned to a place of steadfastness and strength.

Ephesians 6:10

Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might.

I pray that even through suffering, we will stand steadfast in our faith, knowing that we have an all knowing and all loving God who is stronger than we can imagine and will never give us more than we can handle. I pray that in all things, we turn them over to him, so that his will can be done.