We sat in our living room yesterday, crying with friends of our who were experiencing a season of deep suffering. This actually happens often for us. Those who are hurting are drawn to us because they know we have experienced our own seasons of suffering. And they know we will point them to the hope we have in Christ. We can do that because we have lived out a phrase from one of Peter’s epistles …
1 Peter 5:10 says, “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” Did you notice how it starts? With the word after. You will suffer, and there will be an after. The promise from Peter is that Christ Himself will restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. How did Peter know this was true? He experienced it himself.
Peter and Jesus had a unique relationship. Peter was in Jesus’s inner circle of disciples who saw Jesus’s transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-13) and was asked to pray with Jesus on the Mount of Olives before His arrest and betrayal (Matthew 26:37). Jesus called Peter away from his life as a fisherman (Matthew 4:18-22), He called him to step out of a boat and walk on water to him (Matthew 14:28-33), and He entered Peter’s house and healed his mother-in-law (Matthew 8:14-15).
Even through their years together, Jesus knew Peter better than he knew himself. He predicted Peter’s denial during Christ’s trial: “Peter said to him, ‘Even though they all fall away, I will not.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Truly I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times’” (Mark 14:29 & 30). Later in the same chapter of Mark we see it happen as three people asked Peter if he was a follower of Jesus and Peter said no three times: “And immediately the rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, ‘Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.’ And he broke down and wept” (Mark 14:72).
I can’t image how Peter suffered through the events that followed: the trials of Jesus, hearing the crowd yell “crucify him,” seeing Him mocked and tortured, finally the crucifixion and Christ’s death. Oh, the weight of disappointment Peter must have felt! And to believe he wouldn’t have the opportunity to prove himself again.
But days later, when the women went to the tomb, they heard the angel say, “You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you” (Mark 16:6 & 7). Luke’s gospel tells us, “Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen clothes by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened” (24:12).
We read in each Gospel account about Jesus appearing to disciples and followers after His resurrection, but it’s only the Gospel of John that tells us about Peter’s restoration with Christ. Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him three times, the same number of times Peter had denied Jesus. Peter insisted he did, and Jesus gave him his next calling, to care for His followers (John 21:15-18). Peter would likely remember this conversation years later as he wrote that Christ will “himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” Peter knew first hand the power of this process.
So what do we learn about our suffering as we look at this example?
After the disciples suffered through His death and tried to understand His resurrection, Jesus did two very important things: He fed them and He gave them a new purpose. On the same beach where Jesus and Peter walked and talked, He had said to them all, “Come and have breakfast” as he “took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish” (John 21:12 & 13).
Jesus reminded them to meet their physical needs and then sent them out on mission. And He will do the same for you as He leads you to restoration after you have suffered.
Friend, if you are in a season of suffering as well, know that God sees you. He loves you and is with you in your pain. He also wants you to care for yourself—to eat, sleep, move your body, reach out to a friend, read a chapter from Psalms, or listen to your favorite worship song. And when you’re ready, when He has healed your heart and worked all things out for His purpose and your good, He will give you a mission. A big part of that mission will happen on couches and through tears, encouraging others with the encouragement you yourself received. And like Peter, we can be thankful that there’s an “after” to each season of suffering.
He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 2 Cor. 1:4
Sandra Peoples (M Div) is a special-needs mom and sibling. She and her family live outside of Houston, TX where she serves her church as the Inclusion Coordinator for Special Needs Families. She also serves the Southern Baptist of Texas Convention as their Special Needs Ministry Consultant. She’s the author of Unexpected Blessings: The Joys and Possibilities of Life in a Special-Needs Family and co-host of the podcast, Self Care and Soul Care for the Caregiver. You can connect with her at sandrapeoples.com.
