Scripture Sunday - 1 Peter 4:19

"Let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good."

Earlier in this chapter, it is said that we ought to rejoice when we suffer because we are Christians, for we
are "blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God" rests on us (1 Peter 4:14). This is in contrast to the way
our flesh likes to deal with suffering. Perhaps there's a brother in the ministry, and he fights dragons all
day, he stands up for the truth, and as a result, he might get kicked out of places, or at the least, people hate
him and spread rumors about him. If he's like the rest of us, he'll probably want to complain, give up, or
become angry and bitter. Yet we can see plainly in this chapter that the only right way to respond to this is to
rejoice and entrust your soul to your faithful Creator, while still doing good. In other words, do the next thing.
Realize that God is in control, and that He is using this for your good, and concentrate on doing your part. I remember a verse from Keith Green's song, "He'll Take Care of the Rest" that I think illustrates this pretty well...

"You just think about Noah, totin' his umbrella, when there wasn't a cloud in the sky,

All his neighbors would laugh at his pet giraffe, and they would oh-ho, snicker as he passed by,

But the Lord said, 'Hey Noah, be cool - you just keep building that boat,

It's just a matter of time till they see who's gonna float,

You just keep doing your best, and pray that it's blessed,

Hey Noah, I'll take care of the rest, I'm the weatherman!'"