Devotional 18 September 2025

Peter reminds his readers that the Christian life, though marked by suffering, is not defined by it. Our trials are not intended to destroy us but to refine us, shaping us for God’s eternal purposes. Earlier, Peter wrote that suffering tests our faith like gold refined by fire so that it might result in “praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 1:7). In other words, suffering is temporary, but glory is eternal.

God is described here as “the God of all grace,” who has called us to His “eternal glory in Christ.” This calling is secure because it rests not on our strength but on God’s faithfulness. Paul makes the same point when he says, “This light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Cor. 4:17). The Christian life is never wasted, even in hardship, because God Himself is at work in it.

Peter uses four powerful verbs to describe this work: God will restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish His people. This is reconciliation in action. As Paul writes, “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:18). We are both recipients and ambassadors of His restoring work. He makes us whole, secures us as His own, empowers us to endure, and sets us firmly in His Kingdom, which cannot be shaken (Heb. 12:28).

Peter closes with a doxology: “To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1 Pet. 5:11). This is not a throwaway line, it is the anchor of hope. Because dominion belongs to God, our suffering is never the final word. Just as Noah was saved in the Ark through the flood (1 Pet. 3:20–21), so we are safe in Christ, refined but not destroyed, reconciled and glorified. To this God, who has done great things for us, belongs all worship.