Trust and stand

We're almost at the end of this fabulous book. I hope you have enjoyed our studies in I Peter as much as I . . . I have learned so much!

Here are our verses for this week:

And 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. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it.13 She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark. 14 Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ. (I Peter 5:10-14)

Let's take a little side trip, shall we?
Let's go back to when we were small, and we were perhaps in a kindegarten class. We had a lovely sheet of construction paper and a wonderful crayon - our favorite color, if of course, Petty Penelope hadn't snagged it first. (Grin) You'll see where I'm going in a minute.
Our assignment?
Draw a picture of our family. House optional.
We painstakingly drew, and switched colors, and drew some more.
When we were done, we might have had something that looked like the picture above.
Wonderful!
Hmmmmm. How do those peeps get into that house? (Grin)
A child's drawings usually lack something called perspective. The dictionary says this is "the art of representing three-dimensional objects so as to give the right impression of their height, width, and position in relations to each other."
The next definition is the one that we need today: "a true understanding of the relative importance of things; of how they interrelate..."

In the verses that led up to our passage for today, Peter has stressed that we should do several things:
         1. Be firm in our faith
         2. Trust our Lord
Peter is reminding us that God hasn't forgotten us when we go through trials. He is not unaware. He isn't even distracted! He is the God of all grace, and He called us to His glory in Christ in the first place! So, we can truly trust Him to use the trials for His purposes in our lives.....He is the sovereign Lord.
But trusting God has fallen on hard times in Christian circles. People are unfortunately sucked in to sermons that promise us soft clouds to float on, golden harps to strum, and cushy times while we are still here on earth. On the other hand, many are having their "ears tickled" by secular books that promise awesome results if we just employ these five steps and cultivate our own powers and confidence. Oy vey. Where is Christ in all that?
If another believer comes to us with a crisis and we say, "I think you should trust God," they may walk away thinking that we've given them worthless advice -- when we really have said the same thing that we read from the front cover to the back in our Bible......the Word extols the practical benefits of putting our trust in the living God as the way to deal with our problems.

I'm well aware of how tough it is to do that, when in the middle of a problem. So familiar. Yet, the times that I have been successful in trusting Him, and not trying to solve the problem solely with my own brain and muscle, have been times of awesome blessing and He has resolved the issues for me!
I would venture a guess that one thing Peter is trying to tell us to put our trials in perspective. To view them accurately, to see how they interrelate with the rest of our lives.
We know they will only last for a little while.
What?
A little while?
I've been suffering with this problem for years!
I've been praying for such a long time!
I know, right?
But put in perspective, our lifetime is just a short while, compared with eternity.

Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to spend them as we should. (Psalm 90:12, TLB)

How do you know what is going to happen tomorrow? For the length of your lives is as uncertain as the morning fog—now you see it; soon it is gone. (James 4:14)

For man is but a breath; his days are like a passing shadow. (Psalm 144:4)

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  (II Corinthians 4:17-18, NIV)

Another thing to put in perspective is that God is the God "of all grace," and that He is the God of  all strength, too. He doesn't have a little grace for us. He doesn't have some grace for us. He has ALL the grace that is needed -- for each and every one of us! It's like the ocean; it's a limitless supply. However, we've read in the Word that God withholds grace from the proud, and gives it to the humble... to those who are willing to admit that they are totally needy of His blessings. If we are in trials, we must simply trust Him and stand, waiting for His grace to meet our needs.
And He absolutely will! He is mighty to save His people, His children. He will save us from our trials, and He will save us from eternal destruction. Nothing can separate us from His love and care.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)