“18 Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. 19 For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God.” NIV

We are in a section of 1 Peter which is all about submission ‘’for the Lord’s sake to every authority’’ (2:13). In verses 18-25, Peter moves from a citizen’s relationship to the divinely instituted government, to a slave’s relationship to his master. There may be much here, therefore, that we can’t relate to.

However, I felt the need to press the pause button at verse 19, because there is ‘’suffering’’ in the current circumstances. In a lot of cases, it is suffering with a very small ‘s’. But for many people, the suffering is sadly coming with a big fat capital ‘S’. I wouldn’t be surprised if lots of cries are rising up from all corners of the globe saying, ‘It’s not fair!’ What’s happening seems unjust. But there is a way to handle such a situation. It is this: to be aware of God; to live moment by moment with the consciousness of God’s presence. There are hardships we can face with faith and prayer that we could not endure any other way. Knowing God makes all the difference.

PRAYER: Lord, I have found that knowing you does not remove the difficulties from life, but it does make it possible to come through all kinds of struggles with a heart in tact. Thank you for your grace towards me. We pray today for all who are feeling any form of suffering, that they may be conscious of God.