1 Peter 4:19

1 Peter 4:19 Wherefore let them also that suffer according to the will of God commit their souls in well-doing unto a faithful creator.

Expanded Translation

And consequently (because these things are true) those that are suffering according to the will of God must give over their souls in well-doing to a creator worthy of trust and confidence.

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In 1 Peter 4:17-18 we learned:

1. That God, as the good judge, was about to allow hardship and stress to come upon Christians. He has promised to save us if we will cling to Himbut He has not promised that life would be without its hardships.

This brings to mind the well-known words of Annie Johnson Flint:

God hath not promised skies always blue

Flower-strewn pathways all our lives through;

God hath not promised sun without rain,

Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.

God hath not promised we shall not know

Toil and temptation, trouble and woe;

He hath not told us we shall not bear

Many a burden, many a care.

God hath not promised smooth roads and wide,

Swift, easy travel, needing no guide;

Never a mountain rocky and steep,

Never a river, turbid and deep.

But God hath promised strength for the day,

Rest for the labor, light for the way,

Grace for the trials, help from above,

Unfailing sympathy, undying love.

2. That God is just in condemning the wicked to eternal punishment. Someone says, Would God be so cruel, harsh, and brutal as to let people suffer in the fires of hell? What shallow insight into the mind of God! He allows His very own children to suffer here on earthsometimes for years on end! And during the same years, the unconverted may be enjoying the pleasures of sin for a season (Hebrews 11:25). Why, then, would not Jehovah allow the sons of Satan to suffer in the world to come? The Christian chooses to embrace Christ and suffer temporarily on earth (2 Timothy 3:12). The unregenerated man chooses the ways of the devil, and suffers eternally in the future life. In fact, even in this life it is often true that the way of the transgressor is hard (Proverbs 13:15).

In view of the superiority of the Christian's position, then, let him place all his trust in his God. Let him suffer only for doing right, but when times of affliction are his lot, he must learn to lean heavily on the strong and sustaining arm of his loving Father.