Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.
Peter’s beautiful passage teaches us a secret concerning how to make it through difficult times and situations. Here is my rendition of these verses:
“Think about everything Jesus went through and how He endured suffering in order to do God’s will, and it will help you make it through your difficulties. Arm yourselves for battle; prepare yourselves for it by thinking as Jesus did . . . ‘I will patiently suffer rather than fail to please God.’ For if you suffer, having the mind of Christ toward it, you will no longer be living just to please yourself, doing whatever is easy and running from all that is hard. But you will be able to live for what God wills and not by your feelings and carnal thoughts.”
There are difficulties that we go through in life, but we also experience the joy of victory. Trials and tests will come, and God uses them to develop the potential He has put in you. Your part is to decide that you are never going to quit, no matter what, until you see the promises of God revealed in your life. There is one kind of person the devil can never defeat—one who is not a quitter.
Prayer of the Day: Father God, help me to endure trials with the mind of Christ, and to focus on Your will and trust You for victory, no matter how difficult it might be or how I might feel. Help me to never quite and to keep pressing forward, amen.
