9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 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.
Misery loves company. It’s from Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlowe 400 years ago. Ironically, it is spoken by a demon in the play. Its ring of truth sounds a lot like Peter’s comfort to the churches in Asia Minor that faced persecution. If they were not alone in their suffering, it was easier to withstand it because there were brothers and sisters already carrying their cross. The irony is that Peter just finished warning them to resist the devil. What comforts them most is not who they resist but who they trust. When we suffer for the Lord, the Lord is there with us, to restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
Come to Cape Community Church tomorrow and see how important these four things are, not only to the Christian life, but to the Christian struggle with the world. We will see that there is nothing the world can throw at us that can separate us from the love of God. If we resist the devil with his drone of, “You can’t do it!”, we can stand firm in our faith as Martin Luther did because he couldn’t do anything but stand in the strength of Christ. It sounds scary but…
Try it without the Lord!
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church