After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace…will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. – 1 Peter 5:10
July 14, 64 A.D., Rome. A fire that ignited six days earlier had engulfed Rome in flames, burning out of control. Emperor Nero was no friend to Christians. In fact, he and many Roman citizens were hostile toward believers and they blamed them for starting the fire. That unleashed a rash of persecution against Christ-followers that spread to other parts of the Roman Empire. History records that many who professed Christ as Savior was set ablaze while they were still alive, becoming human torches to provide light for the emperor’s garden parties. There was more to endure. In the midst of this “cancel culture,” Peter wrote his first and second epistles.
December 31, 2019, Beijing. The government of China announced that it had been dealing with a virus that seemed to be overtaking a portion of the city of Wuhan. By the 20th of January 2020, the first confirmed cases outside mainland Chine occurred elsewhere in Asia. The next day, a U.S. citizen in Washington state developed symptoms after returning on a ship from China. You’ve watched the progression of COVID-19 and there remains more to endure.
Neither these events, nor others that have intervened since, nor the ones that are still around the corner, come as any surprise to God. It is time to take hold of God’s perspective. Jesus said there would be trials and tribulations; eschatology points to times of great trouble and turmoil. You don’t know what tomorrow holds—but you do know Who holds tomorrow.
In the meantime, God says be patient, be prayerful, be positive, be productive, be proactive, and be prepared. Know that His grace is sufficient to sustain you… and He longs to pour out that grace on others.
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