Here’s a couple of questions: what do you do when you are deeply hurt by others? Or, what do you do when you fear being deeply hurt by others?
Think about the potential dangers that lurk behind any relationship with other humans: abuses of various forms (physical, emotional, sexual, verbal, spiritual), rejection, misunderstandings, betrayal, slander, disappointments, broken promises, unmet expectations, sins, and on and on. Further, we all know by painful experience that such hurts can come from both Christians and non-Christians alike. So what do you do, both with the fact, and the fear of being hurt by others?
Our answer to these questions reveals everything about how we view and trust God. If we are trusting God’s sovereign rule and care, we learn to take our hurts and fears to Him in faith. Then we are freed to obediently forgive and bless those who hurt us, imitating the reaction of our Lord Jesus to His enemies. But if we are not trusting Him, we sinfully take out our hurts and fears on those who hurt us. We do this either by actively seeking revenge and retaliation, or passively avoiding our responsibility to fervently love others. In both instances, we greatly dishonor Jesus Christ.
Beloved, such are the very issues that Peter addresses in 1 Pet. 3:8-12. And as Peter’s exhortations are so deeply grounded in the same from King David in Psalm 34 (especially vs. 12-16), we see that this fundamental matter of trusting God with our troubles – with our hurts and fears – is at the center of everything. So David says, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.” (Ps. 34:8) Peter echoes this thought (1 Pet. 2:1-3), and also says, “…casting all your anxieties upon Him, because He cares for you.” (1 Pet. 5:7)
May the Lord give us ongoing grace to magnify the excellencies of Christ by trusting Him with our hurts and fears!
He is all we need,
Greg