1 Peter | 1 Peter 4:12-19 | John Baker

May 24, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Refining Fire in the Fiery Trial

When suffering burns through life like a refiner’s flame, it reveals what we truly trust. God uses these trials not to destroy but to purify – burning away self-sufficiency, exposing hidden idols, and drawing us closer to His heart. The heat feels unbearable, but the One who walks through the fire with us shapes eternal resilience. [08:15]

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.”
(1 Peter 4:12–13, ESV)

Reflection: What current “fiery trial” feels overwhelming? Is it exposing areas where you’ve relied on your own strength rather than Christ’s faithfulness?

Day 2: Shared Sufferings, Shared Joy

Suffering with Christ means our pain becomes a strange kind of fellowship – a sacred echo of His sacrifice. This isn’t celebrating misery, but anchoring in the paradox that our deepest wounds can become places where His resurrection power feels most near. Joy here isn’t a smile; it’s the stubborn whisper: “He’s still good.” [10:05]

“But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.”
(1 Peter 4:13–14, ESV)

Reflection: Where does your suffering feel isolating? How might Christ’s presence in your pain transform loneliness into companionship with Him?

Day 3: Holiness Through Breath Prayers

Suffering tempts us to self-medicate with Netflix binges, secret vices, or frantic control. Holiness isn’t perfection but turning toward Jesus even when it hurts – a thousand whispered “Help me” prayers. Like a wounded child gripping a parent’s hand, our weakest grip on Him still anchors us to redeeming grace. [16:22]

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
(1 Thessalonians 5:16–18, ESV)

Reflection: When pain hits, what’s your reflex – breath prayers or numbing escapes? Name one situation today where you’ll choose to whisper “Jesus, I need You.”

Day 4: Tear-Stained Worship as Witness

The world expects bitter silence or angry fists from the suffering. But saints sing through cracked voices – their worship a subversive declaration that death doesn’t get the last word. Every tear-stained hymn shouts: “My hope isn’t in circumstances, but the One who holds them.” [20:19]

“I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!”
(Psalm 34:1–3, ESV)

Reflection: What song or Scripture could you cling to today as an act of defiance against despair? Who needs to see your steadfast hope?

Day 5: Held in the Faithful Creator’s Hands

Entrusting our pain to God doesn’t mean understanding it – it means believing the Hands that carved galaxies cradle our breaking hearts. Like Christ in Gethsemane, we sob “Why?” but still say “Your will.” Trust isn’t resignation; it’s placing our shattered pieces into the only One who can make them whole. [23:53]

“Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.”
(1 Peter 4:19, ESV)

Reflection: What specific hurt feels too heavy to hold? What would it look like to open your clenched fists and release it to your faithful Creator today?

Sermon Summary

Peter names the question that keeps surfacing in a fallen world: is suffering deforming a soul or reforming it into Christlikeness. The text calls the church “beloved,” then issues an imperative that reorients expectation: “do not be surprised at the fiery trial.” Identity precedes instruction. As beloved, the church expects heat, not as random harm, but as refining fire that burns away self sufficiency and the illusion of self sovereignty. The trial is not strange, the world is. So the real issue becomes how a life suffers, whether because of sin or for righteousness, and whether that suffering drives a heart to reject Jesus or to rejoice in him.

Peter then ties joy to participation: “rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings.” Joy here is not denial. It is communion. The Spirit of glory and of God rests on those insulted for the name, making their loss a blessing and their endurance a foretaste of the glory to be revealed. The cross shapes the pattern. Jesus, for the joy set before him, endured shame. Those who belong to him sing through tears because a living hope out-sings the pain.

Holiness becomes the pathway where suffering reforms rather than deforms. The text refuses suffering as a murderer, thief, evildoer, or meddler. Running to functional saviors only multiplies pain. Prayer is the lifeblood of holiness. Breath prayers like “Lord, I need you” keep a heart turned Godward when the night is long. What a soul sows, it reaps. Sowing sin during trial harvests thorns. Sowing prayer and obedience yields steadfastness.

Peter then presses the issue of glory and shame. Suffering as a Christian must not produce shame but praise. Hiding from God or hiding Jesus is deforming. Glorifying God, even in a trembled voice, is reforming. Congregational worship becomes furnace and fragrance, forming saints and witnessing to the world. A tear stained face singing Christ’s worth is a peculiar, radiant apologetic.

Judgment begins at the household of God. This purifying judgment clarifies that salvation comes through difficulty, so the ungodly face a dreadful end. The final imperative lands like a handhold: “let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.” It is God’s will not because he delights in pain, but because he refines a people for praise. Scripture’s promises, all “Yes” in Jesus, steady this entrustment. The Table seals it. Christ was brought low to lift up the beloved, and that living hope trains them to be unsurprised by trials, to rejoice in Christ, to walk in holiness, to glorify God, and to keep entrusting themselves to the faithful Creator.

Key Takeaways

1. Fiery trials refine, not surprise Suffering in a fallen world is not strange, it is standard. Peter locates the church as “beloved” before he commands, which reframes trials as the Father’s refining work rather than cosmic accident. Expectation itself becomes formation, turning shock into steadiness and self reliance into surrender. [02:16]
2. Joy grows inside Christ’s sufferings Joy in suffering is communion, not pretending. Sharing Christ’s sufferings brings present blessing because the Spirit rests, and it promises future gladness when his glory is revealed. Joy is learned at the cross where shame becomes song and loss becomes fellowship. [09:30]
3. Holiness resists self-medicating escapes Deforming pain drives a heart to numb, but that numbness breeds more pain. Reforming pain sends a soul to prayer and obedience, where dependence deepens and integrity holds. A life cannot reap holiness while sowing sin, so small, constant prayers become the trellis of endurance. [15:22]
4. Worship through tears glorifies God Shame hides from God or hides Jesus, but praise brings pain into his presence. Singing in the assembly forms saints and becomes a startling witness to a world that only understands pleasure. A tear stained doxology makes a living hope visible, audible, contagious. [21:29]
5. Trust a faithful Creator while doing good Entrusting is the imperative that counters accusation, cynicism, and control. God’s will in suffering is refining love that brings low to lift up, as with Christ. Scripture’s promises steady the hands that keep serving when the story hurts. [22:26]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:27] - Is suffering deforming or reforming
[01:15] - Two kinds of suffering named
[02:16] - Beloved, do not be surprised
[08:15] - Fiery trials as refining fire
[09:30] - Rejoicing in Christ’s sufferings
[11:28] - Blessed as the Spirit rests
[12:56] - Holiness instead of self-medicating
[15:22] - Prayer as the way of holiness
[17:18] - Not ashamed, but glorifying God
[20:31] - Singing through tears in worship
[21:29] - A peculiar witness of living hope
[22:26] - Entrusting souls to a faithful Creator
[24:22] - God’s will in refining suffering
[26:36] - Rejoicing when his glory is revealed

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
1 Peter 4:12-19 (ESV)
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” 19 Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

Observation Questions

In verse 12, Peter addresses the church as “beloved” before giving the command not to be surprised by trials. Why might he emphasize their identity first?
What two contrasting outcomes of suffering are described in verses 13-14 (rejoicing vs. shame)?
According to verses 17-18, what is the purpose of judgment beginning with God’s household, and how does this contrast with the fate of the ungodly?

Interpretation Questions

Why does Peter frame suffering as “not strange” (v. 12) for believers, even though it often feels unexpected or unfair? How does this connect to the idea of being “beloved”?
How does the phrase “the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you” (v. 14) redefine what it means to be “blessed” in the context of suffering?
Verse 19 links suffering to “entrusting” oneself to God. What does it mean to trust a “faithful Creator” while still actively “doing good” in the midst of pain?

Application Questions

When facing a trial, do you tend to react with shock (“Why is this happening?”) or steadiness (“God is refining me”)? What practical step could help you shift toward the latter? [02:16]
What is one area where suffering has tempted you to “self-medicate” (e.g., distraction, numbing, control) instead of turning to prayer? How might a simple “breath prayer” like “Lord, I need You” interrupt that pattern? [15:22]
Have you ever hidden your faith or your struggles out of shame? What would it look like to bring both your pain and your praise into the light this week? [17:18]
How could singing or praying with others—even through tears—strengthen your witness to someone outside the faith? [21:29]
What promise from Scripture (e.g., God’s faithfulness, future glory, His presence) most anchors you when suffering feels overwhelming? How can you remind yourself of it daily?
Is there someone in your life whose joyful endurance in hardship has encouraged you? How could you intentionally encourage them in return? [07:43]

Sermon Clips

41s

#PrayerInSuffering

“There's something beautiful about the world seeing that you are suffering. You're in pain. You're struggling. And through the weeping, there is worship. I think there is no more powerful thing that we can see in holiness than a life devoted to con constant communication and dialogue with the father. I would say this and put this forward to you. There is no way you can walk in holiness apart for from a vibrant, intentional prayer life. There is no way.”

30s

#RefinedNotBySelf

“God is refining his people, his children to look more and more Christ like every single day, and the fiery trials are those places where he's burning away any thought of self sufficiency or self sovereignty in our lives where we think, I've got this God. Because when we get to that place, we no longer trust him. We end up trusting ourselves and trying to control the narrative of our lives, and what we find out very quickly is it crushes us.”

45s

#PromisesFulfilledInChrist

“What you can find throughout scripture is a God who keeps his promises with steadfast love. What you can find throughout scripture through the Old Testament and the New Testament is that every promise of God in the Old Testament points forward to when it will find its yes in Jesus. And ultimately, everything we see in Christ and after Christ in the sense of by a time metric proves God's faithfulness. And there is still an already not yet to the fulfillment of God's promises where he will bring us home, which is why it says in verse 13, you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.”

36s

#FormedBySuffering

“And this morning, we're asking a pretty important question that I think is really searching within our hearts. Is my suffering deforming me or reforming me? Is my suffering deforming me or reforming me? Because suffering is always forming something in us. The question is how is it forming us? When we look at the world and we see that we live in a fallen world marred by sin, there's this certain inevitability of suffering.”

35s

#ShareChristsSufferings

“I love how it says, in so far as you share in Christ's sufferings, that we get this beautiful picture that we get to share in a sense in the sufferings of Jesus. What does that mean? It means that we get to suffer in holiness. We talked about this that there's this inevitability of sin, either sin inevitability of suffering because of sin. Think about Jesus as the suffering servant who goes to the cross to end eternal suffering for those who would believe.”

32s

#SufferingFollowsChrist

“Now that doesn't mean that we don't endure suffering. In fact, I dare say this. I was talking with a friend this week over lunch that I would dare say that when we come to Christ, we will ultimately face more suffering in life. We will. And the beauty of it is that Jesus is there in the midst of it by the power of his spirit. It says that when you are insulted for the name of Jesus, you are blessed. You're beloved. Why?”

26s

#HopeBeyondSuffering

“There is a reality that we suffer knowing that this isn't the end. Zach talked about it last week. Whatever the end means, we can know that Jesus is faithful. Suffering is reforming you, and by the grace of God, you're no longer surprised by it. You still rejoice in Jesus. You walk in holiness. You glorify God, and you entrust yourself to him.”

33s

#BelovedDontBeSurprised

“Now this terminology would mean that we are loved by God and united to his people. We belong to him. And in fact, a lot of the first century writers, when they use this term, were referring to Christians specifically to give them hope as the beloved of God. And he goes on to say, do not be surprised. I have that written here be or under in red and underlined because that's the imperative of this verse. Don't be surprised.”

Ask a question about this sermon

Multiply Church This sermon · AI assistant

How can suffering reform rather than deform Christians?

What are signs suffering is reforming you?

How should believers respond when insulted for Christ?