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Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an account of the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing evil. For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight people, were saved through water. And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you—not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God fora good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him. (1 Peter 3:13-22)
I spent sixteen weeks at 1111 Texas Avenue in downtown Houston back in the mid-70s. I was in marketing school for Southwestern Bell Telephone. I had wonderful classmates that during those weeks became like family; we laughed, cried, worried, and celebrated together. We heard each one's story, and learned how it was that we ended working for the then-telephone monopoly. I will never forget there was a point where one of my classmates asked, "What is it about you? There's something different about you." I smiled and shared my faith. I hoped that it was my attitude and outlook towards life that even though I was in the "belly of the whale," this huge corporation in downtown Houston, that God still favored me and was watching out for me. I knew that I was being trained to make good money and to help this company make great money. I tried hiding my sadness at having dropped out of seminary and having run away from God; but God's grace was with me even there. The graphic above is a more gentle version of the text printed above; "Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an account of the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence." There was hope in me even in that place at that time. My desire was to do good for God even if it was away from the pulpit. I thank God that I did not suffer other than my feelings of disappointment towards myself and my call, but I knew that God would use me for His purposes even after this training. The result was that this training helped me in my self-confidence, my shyness, and pushed me further into being the person I needed to be when I did become a pastor.
Whatever you might be facing, dear friend, may be only for a season; soon it will be a fleeting memory and you will realize that God has been with you all along, and as Peter writes, "You are blessed." We may not understand it now, but through prayer, Bible study, worship, and listening; God will make it every clear what it is that you can now do that you couldn't have done had you not passed through this. Your prayers should be always of gratitude even in the midst of suffering, and the blessings will continue to be yours.
PRAYER: Loving God, bless the life of this dear reader; whatever they may be going through, be it good or bad, is only for a season. Grant to this dear person, strength and patience, and open their eyes to see the blessings that You're still sharing with them even now. To You be all honor and glory we pray in Christ Jesus' precious name we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Smile more! People will wonder what is different about you!
Eradio Valverde
