Suffering is God’s idea. Not for hateful pleasure, but heavenly purposes. God’s people will recognize suffering as part and parcel of sojourning. Living in a cursed realm necessarily entails loss and pain. This is true for all. But for saints, it is the representative reminder that this is not our home—our hopes are directed heavenward. Having addressed the saints as sojourners, calling them to unnatural submission for the sake of the Savior, Peter now draws particular attention to Christ-centered suffering. Submission to unrighteous authorities often leads to righteous suffering. And this was the way of Christ. Such was the cup that He drank for our salvation. For us, suffering is not left to tragedy but is designed to draw us closer to our Savior, both for our comfort and His character in us. In this second message of sojourning for the Savior, we will again look to First Peter for divine guidance. Our aim is for unity in how we should step as a church in submission, suffering, and strength in our present trials. But it is also preparatory. We desperately need to be armed with this way of thinking for the journey ahead, for the sake of the Suffering Savior.
