Joy in Hard Times
Study Passage: 1 Peter 1:3-9
Have you ever been in a living situation that felt temporary? Perhaps you’ve experienced a season of transition, of not feeling settled, a season of discomfort and longing for... home.
DAY 1
Last week, in Psalm 119, we learned the Israelites had been exiled from their homes (repeatedly) and the inspired poetry of the psalms offered encouragement during difficult times. This week, now just 3 decades after Jesus’ death and resurrection, the apostle Peter wrote a letter to encourage and strengthen early christians who had been forced to leave their homes and Jerusalem due to harassment, persecution, and even imprisonment. At first persecution came from their own people, the Jews, who viewed the followers of Jesus as blasphemers for their belief that the Messiah had come and fulfilled the law and they now lived under a new covenant. When Peter wrote this letter in the early 60’s (60-65 A.D.), he likely anticipated that things were about to go from bad to worse and intense persecution was coming (if it had not already begun) from Rome under Emperor Nero. And he was right, Peter was martyred (around 66 A.D.) during Nero’s persecution as well as hundreds, if not thousands of Rome’s early Christians. Read 1 Peter 5:12. Why did Peter write this letter to the exiled Jewish and Gentile believers?
DIGGING DEEPER (optional): How did early christians end up scattered throughout Rome? People that believed Jesus was Messiah fled Jerusalem following the stoning of Stephen, who was the first to die for his faith (Acts 6-8). Read Acts 8:1-4 and 11:19-20. What was the result of those who had been scattered throughout the Roman world?
DAY 2
Let’s take a moment to get to know Peter, one of Jesus’ twelve disciples. How exactly did Peter, uneducated and a fisherman (Acts 4:13), whose impulsiveness often caused him to stumble, become a leader in the early church who encouraged christians to stand firm during hard times? Jesus chose Peter (originally known as Simon) and He gave him a new name, Cephas (translated as Peter), which means “a stone” or “rock” (John 1:42). Peter became one of three disciples in Jesus’ inner circle (along with James and John) and spent three years in close fellowship and being trained by Jesus. Peter became a new person with a new purpose. Read Luke 22:32 and John 21:15-17. What instructions did Jesus give Peter?
DAY 3
Jesus gave Peter a new name, a new purpose, and a new identity. We don’t get our identity from what we do, we bring our identity to all that we do. That’s what Peter did when he wrote this letter. He was living out his identity in Christ! Peter’s letter speaks of hope and even joy in the midst of difficult times. Let’s look at three ways Peter encouraged christians who were suffering.
1. Living hope.
Just as Peter had been given a new life in Christ, he reminds the exiled believers they have received a “new birth” - a spiritual birth into a new life in God’s family (1 Peter 1:3 NIV, CSB). And because they were “born again” (ESV), they always had hope, a living hope. Biblical hope is more than wishful thinking, it’s based on confidence in a living Christ. Read 1 Peter 1:3 and 18-21. What assurance do believers have for their hope?
DIGGING DEEPER (optional): Digging Deeper (optional): What does it mean to be “born again?” Nicodemus asked Jesus the same question (John 3:4). As a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin (the ruling council), Nicodemus had reached the upper echelon of religious leaders and likely believed his religious status and works would’ve qualified him for entrance into the Kingdom of God. Read John 3:1-21. You can gain a better understanding of this concept of spiritual rebirth by asking yourself, WHY did Jesus tell Nicodemus that one must be “born again” to enter God’s Kingdom?
2. Eternal Inheritance.
To believers exiled from their homes, Peter encourages them to look past their temporary grief to their forever home in heaven through faith in the gospel of Christ. Read 1 Peter 1:4 and 1:23-25. How is the believer's inheritance described? How does that compare to all that we have in this life?
How is the Word of God (the gospel) described in verses 23 and 25?
Are you noticing a theme? Peter’s words ooze with LIFE! Jesus is alive (vs. 3, 21), the Word of God is living (vs. 23), and those who believe in Him receive new life (vs. 3). None of this is temporary! Jesus has been known before the foundation of the world (vs. 20), our salvation is eternal (vs. 4), and the Word of God endures (vs. 23).
3. Joy in Suffering.
Peter goes above and beyond just letting believers know they should expect trials, he tells us to rejoice in them! Peter has experienced a joy that doesn’t come and go with circumstances - a joy that looks past temporary trials to an unchanging and eternal relationship with God. God can use our suffering to refine us, to strengthen our faith and to conform us into the image of Christ, much like heat separates out impurities from gold to make it purer. Read 1 Peter 1:6-7. Have you ever experienced suffering that resulted in a stronger faith in God? How is it possible to experience joy in the midst of hard times?
Friends, may you be encouraged today and rejoice in this, that “even though now for a short time, if necessary, you suffer grief in various trials so that the proven character of your faith—more valuable than gold which, though perishable, is refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ,” 1 Peter 1:6-7 (CSB).
Written by: Sarah West
Check out this video as we unpack this week’s study passage.
