In this world, we are going to suffer. It’s true. That’s what Peter is saying at the end of his letter. There are spiritual things going on in this world that he wants us to remember. First, we have an enemy, and a very real one at that. And his most successful tactical move toward defeating us is perhaps our own tendency toward distraction. We’d much rather look for ways to explain our pain and suffering, or find ways to numb or ignore it—anything but lean into it.
The world is blind to the schemes of the enemy, who has also blinded their eyes to the light of the gospel (2 Corinthians 4:4–6). This is why Peter is pleading with Christ-followers to “be sober-minded, be alert.” Because our “adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
Now, I can assure you that when facing down a lion, real or hypothetical, my first instinct will always be to flee, not stand and fight. And this lion Peter is warning us about is very real, indeed—whether we’re aware of him or not—and he is always stalking us, circling, looking for a weakness to exploit. Therefore, we are to “resist him,” standing “firm in the faith, knowing that the same kind of sufferings are being experienced by [our] fellow believers throughout the world” (v.9). We must be awake to his schemes.
Suffering throughout a fallen world? The enemy would far rather we continue to be surprised by it, especially if, in the midst of our pain, we begin to doubt the goodness of our God. And so we must remember that our personal pain and suffering this side of heaven are not the exception (1 Peter 4:12). Nor are our struggles really with one another; they are with evil itself (Ephesians 6:12).
This enemy will use every weapon in his arsenal to abuse us and tear us away from the path God has called us to. He wants to keep us from maturing in the faith, and he most definitely does not want us to become who God created us to be: devoted lovers of God, who display His love and splendor to the world. Our enemy wants to wound us and will stop at nothing to do it.
But here’s the most important thing to remember: Jesus Christ defeated death and evil itself (John 16:33), and if we are in Him, we’ve conquered them too—the enemy cannot harm us (1 John 5:4, 18–19). We belong to a loving, all-powerful God, who does not abuse us through suffering. Instead, He draws us closer to Him, healing and transforming us through our pain—not in spite of it. Because of this, we will never be crushed under the weight of persecution or affliction. This suffering is only temporary, but our salvation is secure, our relationship with our Creator everlasting (2 Corinthians 4:7–9, 16–18). And after we have suffered a little while, God Himself will restore us and make us strong, firm and steadfast (1 Peter 5:10). Thanks be to our God.
Kara Gause is a content editor for She Reads Truth, happily residing with her family in Nashville, Tennessee.
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39 thoughts on "Firm in the Faith"
We have this treasure in clay jars,
nothing extraordinary about clay jars,
Except, for the Treasure within.
Clay jars may be cracked or broken
when that happens, the Treasure is poured forth.
Maybe,
the pouring forth is the blessing.
Indeed everything is for your benefit so that,
as grace extends through more and more people
(as Jesus is being poured out)
it may cause thanksgiving to increase
to the glory of God.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood.
As Your warrior I wear Your armor,
The helmet of salvation,
Belt of truth,
Feet of peace,
Breastplate of righteousness,
Holding firm the shield of faith
Ready to use the sword of Your Word
Saturated in prayer
When my clay becomes cracked and broken
May the Treasure that pours forth
be pure and true.
So be it Lord.
Beautiful!!
❤️❤️❤️
This Sunday I walked into the church I had grown up in. No big deal, right? Except for the fact that I moved away from my little hometown 12 years ago (for my job) and was carrying baggage the size of a duffle bag around about this church. As I’ve grown older I’ve discovered that every church has its people who lift you up and those who pull you down. Moving around with the military you join a lot of churches along the way. All run by man (and woman), all reaching for Christ, all HUGE targets of the enemy.
As my family and I moved back to my hometown I never thought we would join the church I’d grown-up in. To me, there was too much baggage. However, God being God continued to whisper this churches name to me saying – “look, there is a new pastor – I am restoring that place; look, there is a new music minister – I am restoring that place; look, some of the people who brought you pain have been exposed a frauds, I have restored them but they have moved on and now I am restoring that place. Go, try!”
Eight months after moving back to this town and these whispers building and God bringing an understanding of true love to me through way of me forgiving the hurts, I went (and brought my family too). I was met with deep love from those who had stayed with the church through a dark time. I was meet with hugs and warmth from those who had no clue my inner battle.
In Sunday School we talked about “building your house upon the rock;” in the main service the pastor talked about how we are made for worship and that we will worship anything but that we are called to push those “thrones” away and worship only Him In the deepest level of ourselves. I left feeling warmth, feeling refreshed, and excited for some of the AMAZING thing I know God is about to do for that church and wanting to be a part of it.
Move on to Monday where my husband left for a business trip for the second week in a row and I could not focus on anything except my stupid phone. Motivational not there to finish unpacking my house, do laundry, etc. My deepest thrones were being brought to the front and Satan was trolling my house! By Wednesday I truly spoke this feeling of “distraction” (funny that is the same word used in this devotional) out loud but still had to push through it (with God’s strength). Here we are on Friday closing what was just a weird week and I open this devotional (1st time I’ve looked this week) and God just nails the “stand firm on my rock – name your false throne and burry it – wake up to your distractions and follow me, stay with me, be in battle with me.” So timely is He in His words and messages to us! So thankful for this today.
I resonate so much with Kristen’s analogy. It’s so hard to keep a clear mind when you are faced with life’s adversities, no matter what size. Emotions always take precedence over things like objectivity, logic or sound and sober sense. His Word is always calling on us to stay clear-minded (sober) and grounded in your faith(firm and objective) when faced with challenges. Powerful!
“Be sober-minded, be alert.”
It is so easy to get distracted, to let my mind focus on the world and not on “the God of all grace, who called me to his eternal glory in Christ, who will himself restore, establish, strengthen, and support me after I have suffered a little while.” I teach high school art and I have learned that if I want to be sure my kiddos really hear what I’m saying I make them put everything down and look at me. I tell them that I need to see all their beautiful faces before I will start explaining. (I still have to repeat myself to a few, but they are teenagers!) God wants the same thing from me. When I take my focus off of Him and His truth and start chasing after “stuff” I stop being “sober-minded and alert”.
Papa God, keep me alert and my mind focused on You today. Protect me from worry, anxiety, fear, bitterness, anger – all those things Satan will use to keep my focus on the world and myself and not on You. Amen
Amen!! I love your list-restore, establish, strengthen and support-what more could we ask for?
When I think sober minded, I think it means to think clearly. People that aren’t sober are influenced by the substance. Those who are sober, are better able to the clearly. We can focus on the truth of God’s Word and not just emotions. Feeling and emotions can be misleading and have us believing lies. God’s Word is the standard to base our lives on. ( I wrote this in response to the post above.) Hope this helps.
Really helpful, thank you!
This is absolutely beautiful
Love the verse that remembers me to be sober-minded and alert. I know what when I have a cocktail or more my thoughts definitely become clouded and I am more likely to fall into a trap the devil has set. When my head is clear, I truly can see past the enemy and his tricks! I am mindful that if I am going to enjoy an adult beverage that I follow it with water and food to ensure that my mind stays within reasonable thoughts and that it is still difficult for the devil to sway me.
Be Alert ⚠️ and sober minded – still thinking about what it means to be sober minded in practice.
I am thinking about this too. If the opposite of sober is “drunk” I imagine imagine that sober in this sense means not influenced or distracted from reality. If we are sober-minded our vision is clear. We are ready at all times and prepared in every moment to face our adversary. We “see” the real enemy—the one who is out to try to destroy or “devour” our faith. The real enemy is not the one who offended us or did an injustice to us or hurt us, it is Satan who is waiting for us to show our vulnerability (fear, doubt pride, etc.) I know that When I feel attacked, I tend to focus my “fight or defense” against that person or the circumstance that is causing me to suffer. If I am to be sober-minded and alert, I can realize that the evil is from the evil one who is using the circumstances to get to me. Knowing this, shouldn’t it then be easier for me to love my enemy because they are being used by Satan to get to me? In my sober-ness I can clearly see the distinction, and keep myself from being distracted and entangled in defending myself against “personal attacks” from others and my painful circumstances. I can lift my eyes from this world and see my Savior who has already overcome this world and has saved me from the enemy. Praise God!
Yes! Attacks are from the enemy, not the person being used. Easy to forget that. Thanks for your words today!
This is so good!