1 Peter 4:12-13 ¹²Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it happens to you as a test to you, as though something strange were happening to you, ¹³but insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, rejoice, so that you may also rejoice being overjoyed when his glory is revealed.

The letter returns to one of the central topics of suffering. Peter’s readers may have been experiencing different types of struggles because of their new faith in Jesus. They were in different positions of life, as slaves, wives, husbands, and other social categories, all of which posed unique challenges for them. Beloved (2:11) addresses all the different groups and individuals in the scattered young churches. These new believers may have thought that believing in Jesus would bring bliss, blessings, and benefits, but they were finding that it created social pressure and persecution in some situations. The letter shifts at this point to how the readers could and should respond to suffering.

Peter reminds them that they should not be surprised they were experiencing suffering, which he calls fiery trials. Trials can feel like fire, Since Jesus suffered for doing right (2:21-24), his followers should expect the same type of reception from others (John 15:18-19). If we are living like Jesus and follow in his footsteps, we should expect suffering of some type. If the darkness likes us and we experience no challenges, we may need to ask ourselves if we are too much like it.

Trials are tests of our faith. We can let them defeat us, or we can grow through them. We may feel we are the only one going through a difficult time, which is a normal feeling, especially at the beginning of the trial. We may experience a sense of aloneness, isolation, or targeting by others. One of the first questions we tend to ask is, “Why me?” We may struggle with strong feelings and doubts. Peter does not say here that God is the author of these trials. Rather, they come from others who reject our holy lifestyle and our honest words filled with God’s grace and love, which also sometimes bring conviction. Tests can either deplete us spiritually and physically or they can strengthen our faith and resolve.

All people suffer, but not all participate in the sufferings of Christ. To be part of Christ’s suffering, we must bear up under trials that come our way because we have chosen the way of holiness. We live in the likeness of Christ who suffered for us, even though he was innocent. He chose the way of holiness in love, remaining free from sin. To participate in this suffering, we must walk in the light of Christ. We should rejoice in the opportunity to share in this suffering, realizing that it will qualify us to participate in the glory of Jesus’ coming again.

By nature, we want to do the opposite and escape trials and avoid putting ourselves in a situation where our faith will be challenged. When the heat comes, we back away. When the trials and persecution come, we compromise. Peter learned a difficult personal lesson about this the night of Jesus’ arrest, when he denied knowing Jesus three times when the trial came to him. He did not want his readers to experience the same shame, especially when Jesus comes again. We do not want to hear, “Depart from me, I never knew you” (Matthew 7:33).