The Bible says in 1 Peter 5:10 that "After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself to restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you."
What does this mean?
This verse in the Bible, to me, has become such a declaration of perseverance and an anthem of faith in my life.
If you've read any of my other articles, you know I'm a feeler; I feel every emotion strongly and every one means something to me. Tthat didn't start happening until about two years ago when I first encountered the Lord on a personal level. There's something special and overwhelming that happens to a person's heart when they encounter and get to know Jesus.
And with that trait, I had wished I came across this verse a long time ago.
This verse is magical.
Pastor Steven of Elevation said it perfectly in one of his sermons; we cannot let the temptations in the wilderness blind us from the promises we see in the waters of baptism. If you're wondering more specifically what that is referring to, read Mark 1 when Jesus gets baptized.
Jesus was tempted in the wilderness for 40 days and yet he chose to not give attention to something that was already beneath him.
He suffered in the wilderness but after he tore that temptation down, angels came to his reassurance, to minister to him (Mark 1:12).
It was after the suffering when God came and strengthened Jesus, restored Jesus, confirmed and established Jesus.
It's crazy how easily we allow Satan to come into our minds in certain seasons of our life and change that truth.
That verse never falters, it never wavers, it never proves to be untrue. We allow our vulnerable minds to wither on the lies spoken by the devil which blocks the truth already spoken by the Lord.
Temptations and pain never discriminate and we all experience our fair share of tragedies that knock us off our feet or shove us ten feet backwards.
It's how we handle those situations that affect our soul.
We have to trust and prophesy that God is good during the process even before we get to the finish line. God is worthy during the detour before we reach the destination.
When we're in the middle of a season of tragedy, sadness, loneliness, anger, confusion, we tend to unconsciously mask the hope and positivity we had before the season ever started. But there's a reason for every situation we are put through.
And that's when hope and faith come into play; having the hope and faith that God works everything out for the good, even through tragedies and tough times.
Although we may be stuck in the middle, which feels like all the time, God is at work molding and shaping you in His image and leading you down the path He has made for you.
