At first glance, Peter’s question may not seem to have an encouraging answer. Haven’t thousands of martyrs, including most of the apostles, discovered that there is great harm in the pathway of Christ? Hasn’t every saint found that following Christ leads to suffering for Christ? Didn’t Christ himself tell us repeatedly that it would be so? 

The answer of course to each of these questions is in the affirmative. Yet the same Jesus who warned us “they will persecute you” (John 15:20), also promises us that “there shall not an hair of your head perish” (Luke 21:18).

How can these both be true? Peter explains in the context of his own assertion. Because the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous and his ears are open to their prayers (verse 12), then even when they suffer for righteousness’ sake there is no need to fear or be troubled (verse 14). No true harm ever comes to those who follow the good path of God.

Although we will have tribulation, he has overcome the world. Although we will fall into various trials, we can count them a joy knowing that the trying of our faith is working patience in us. Although we will face tribulation, we glory in tribulation knowing that through our suffering the love of God will be shed abroad in our hearts.

The promise is made to the liberal soul — the one who is liberal in giving not only material things but giving of his time, his love, his ministry to others. In our human nature we tend to be selfish, consumed with our own interests, pursuing our own plans. But the previous verse tells us that spirit leads to poverty.

In contrast, the one who by grace loves his neighbor, considers others, and looks for opportunities to minister to them is the one who is made “fat.” God has promised that the one who sows bountifully will reap bountifully. It is a principle that Paul tells us concerns our giving but it reaches into every avenue of Christian service. 

No one is more impoverished than the covetous man who finds no joy in giving or the person who is so caught up in her own plans that she has no time to pray for or minister to others. But when one is giving liberally of his money, his time, and himself, he is then watered with great joy in serving God.

Just as an individual with a giving spirit is enjoying showers from on high, it is equally true of a church that possesses that generous spirit. There is a joy that prevails within the body of Christ as joyful givers give and others are blessed by their giving. A church with a giving spirit is a church which is honoring Jesus Christ as it faithfully ministers to those in need.

We first see here a significant need. Jesus speaks to those who are thirsty, and we look at several scriptures which promise blessings to those who thirst — those who come to recognize their great need.

We then see an adequate solution. Here is a warm word of welcome, “Let him come unto me, and drink.” Come to me — not to the law, not to religious rites, but come to me — come to Jesus Christ.

And then we see an abundant blessing. Not only will that soul who comes to Jesus and drinks of the living water be refreshed and satisfied, but also rivers of water will flow from their lives.

Are you thirsty? Jesus says, “Come.”

Purchase the series Jesus Is the Christ, Volume 4, from which this message comes, or call 1-800-473-4224 to order this single message.

Weeping does indeed endure. In fact, the night of weeping can sometimes appear to be endless. When sorrow comes over us in waves, when disappointments follow hard on the heels of each other, when physical pain wracks our body — the night stretches on and on.

But here is the great consolation of Scripture. Joy is coming! It may seem to linger, but it is irresistibly moving toward you and will reach you with the darkness-shattering power of the dawn. No matter how severe the shadows, no matter how stormy the darkness, once the dawn comes the night is easily and quickly forgotten. No darkness is so great that the coming of the Son does not drive it away.

For the Christian, the best is always yet to come. Is the energy and beauty of youth behind you? The best is yet to come. Has health and strength left you? The best is yet to come. Have you lost a loved one to that old enemy Death? The best is yet to come.

Weeping may endure; there are sorrows that simply cannot be faced without tears. But joy is coming…dawn is approaching…the best is yet to come.

The goal of the church is the glory of God. Although our attention and efforts are so easily distracted toward building programs, political games, or personal relationships, none of these can substitute as a foundation or motivation for the church. The church exists to glorify God in the world. 

But we cannot do this in our own strength. That is why Paul prays that this glory will come by Christ Jesus. The more we rely on our own ingenuity, business savvy, or personality for the success of the church, the less God is glorified in the church.

Any organization can thrive through careful business models or market research. But Christ’s church dies without Christ. God is glorified in the church only as Christ is looked to as the sole source of strength and motivation and direction for the church. 

Thank God, though, he has not left the church merely to the inventions and power of any person or earthly organization. He has purposed that glory will be given him, by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages.

What about you? Are you part of God’s plan for glorifying himself? If you are not actively involved in a local church then you cannot take part in this great purpose.

It’s easy to look at someone else’s successful battle, after the fact, and take for granted the outcome.

The single person who once upon a time struggled with loneliness and for patience, but is now married and has a house full of kids; the parent or grandparent who agonized in daily prayer for years for the salvation of their wayward child, but now he or she is a joyful and active member of the church; the miserable employee who dreaded going into work each day because of the depth of his unfulfillment, but who now is happily employed at his dream job.

What was it like, though, at the time of the challenge when the outcome was still unknown, uncertain? It was for them just like it is for us right now, in the midst of the trial!

David trusted the invisible God to defeat his very visible enemy — and you should too!

What mindset invariably leads to serving others? Humility. When we see ourselves as undeserving of the least of God’s goodness, then we esteem others better than ourselves. When our own faults are clearly before our eyes, we have no room left for criticizing others.

And when we, in genuine and personal humility, esteem others as we ought, we will cease to look for ways to please ourselves and begin to look for ways to help others. Rather than using others to better ourselves, we will use ourselves to better others. 

What have your goals and thoughts been about this day? Are you planning the hours in such a way as to better your own situation or as to better the situation of others around you? Is your great concern the fulfillment of personal ambitions or is your ambition to lose yourself in the service and benefiting of God’s people around you?

How we plan our day, how we use our time, how we spend our money — these are all barometers of true humility. May your self-esteem be transformed today into service for others. May you find the great joy and satisfaction that only and paradoxically comes from giving up your own pleasure for the sake of others.

When a man and woman marry, the two individuals then become one. This marvel of marriage implies both a new and tremendous liberty for them both and a vital and voluntary constraint upon them both. 

On one hand, a tremendous liberty: two individuals working together in unity are able to accomplish and enjoy far more together than they ever could alone. Every good marriage is made up of more than just the sum of its two simple parts. Marriage multiplies the pleasures, the accomplishments, and the opportunities of life.

On the other hand, their new oneness implies restrictions — they are no longer free to make their own decisions or set their own goals as individuals, without consideration for each other. Go to any three-legged race and you will quickly see the awkwardness and bondage of two individuals, who are joined together, still trying to make their own way and rely on their own strength. 

Although in our Western culture the decision to marry is made by the two individuals, once they commit themselves to the God-invented institution of marriage it is in effect God who has joined them together. They are therefore responsible to God for their commitment to each other.

What God has joined together in the holy bonds of matrimony is not to be lightly or selfishly or wrongly separated by any mere mortal. Therefore, strive to make yourselves, and those loved ones of yours who are married, more unified for the glory of God. Never seek to divide what God has glued together.

“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations” (Psalm 100:4-5).

Here is a command to thanksgiving.

Sin is disobeying God, and so when we fail to consistently nurture gratitude in our hearts to God we are sinning.

I suppose most Christians would immediately, although perhaps reluctantly, admit the truth of this statement. However, for most of us “ingratitude” would not quickly come to mind if we were to list the sins we think of as particularly heinous. Although we might not express it this way, we might even consider it one of the more excusable, acceptable, even understandable sins. After all, life is hard and being thankful all the time is not easy.

However, we perhaps begin to see the seriousness of the issue when we notice how the psalmist ties together the act of thanking God (“be thankful unto him”) with the act of worshiping God (“bless his name”) — notice also the parallel use of “thanksgiving” with “praise” in verse 4.

Simply put, thanksgiving is worship. And the fact is, God is concerned for his glory, that his benevolence and blessings reverberate back to him in the grateful praise of his creation.

It Is the Will of God

Paul writes, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Our immediate response may be, “In everything? I can understand giving thanks for family, and jobs, and air conditioning and modern medicine; but how can I give thanks when I lose loved ones, get laid off, or become ill?” Yet, the Spirit’s command is unavoidable.

And Paul immediately hits upon the greatest and best grounds for gratitude — the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

You see, this command is only part of the enormous picture of God’s will in Christ Jesus concerning you.

He also sent his Son as substitute for you, and continues to work—every moment of every day, in every event of life—in you and for you.

It is the purpose of God for you to give thanks in everything, then, because it is the purpose of God to call and save and sanctify and bless you throughout your life. Or, in the words of the psalmist, it is always appropriate to bless and worship the God who has blessed us so abundantly with his goodness and mercy: “for [because] the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting.”

Consider 2 Corinthians 4:15: “All things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.”

Every person, every situation, everything is allowed through the wise and omnipotent hand of God for your sakes, in Jesus Christ; and all this is so that his grace may redound to his glory.

The good of those who love God is not God’s only motivation. It is the great and ultimate purpose of God that his abundant and conquering grace should redound to his own glory. It is only right that it would be so, like an author or a painter or a sculptor being credited for his masterpieces.

How does abundant grace resonate to his glory? Through the thanksgiving of many.

When we grab from the gracious hand of God and run away thoughtlessly to enjoy his benefits, his abundant grace does not receive the glory it deserves.

Gratitude Magnifies God

Why is God so concerned about thanksgiving? In addition to being the appropriate expression of his blessed creatures back to him, gratitude magnifies God: “I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving” (Psalm 69:30).

At first glance, this wording may seem strange. How do we magnify the omniscient, omnipresent, almighty God?

Put another way, how can anyone make an everywhere-present God bigger?

But consider what we do when we use a magnifying glass in order to read small print, or perform detailed work, or inspect any item more closely. Does the magnifying glass actually make the object larger? No, but it does increase our own ability to perceive and appreciate the thing being considered.

Similarly, the psalmist recognizes that praising God and giving him gratitude will “grow” his view of God, not only in his own sight but also in the sight of others — just as “the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified” when the people saw the difference between the spiritual power of Paul through Christ and the spiritual impotence of the seven sons of Sceva acting on their own (Acts 19:17).

We magnify or diminish our God and Savior Jesus Christ in front of others—friends, family members, neighbors, co-workers, or strangers—by our response to the blessings we receive from his gracious hand.

Forget Not All His Benefits

It is remarkable to see the emphasis placed on thanksgiving in both the Old and New Testaments. When Daniel prays for deliverance by divine revelation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, his request is not mentioned in detail — but his lengthy prayer of thanksgiving is recorded word-for-word! (Daniel 2:19-23). Likewise, Hannah’s prayer for a child is given in one verse (1 Samuel 1:11), whereas her expression of gratitude stretches over ten verses of the divine narrative (2:1-10). That’s 10-to-1 “coverage” by the Holy Spirit!

I wonder, how seriously do we take the psalmist’s determination to “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits”? (103:2).

He was resolved that not a single benefit of God’s merciful provision should come to him without his carefully marking it as yet another unmerited favor.

This was not out of some drab sense of duty, but rather out of heart overflowing with a desire to “bless the Lord.”

So, while it is true that thanksgiving is a command (Psalm 100:4), it is also true that it is a privilege (Hebrews 13:15). And, while we do give thanks because we are blessed (Psalm 103:2; 147:7-8), we are also blessed because we give thanks (Psalm 50:14). Thus, giving thanks is for our own good (Philippians 4:6) and at the same time for God’s glory (2 Corinthians 4:15). Thanksgiving is for the child of God now (Colossians 4:2), and his joyful pursuit throughout eternity (Revelation 7:12).

In short, God has built his universe in such a way that everything that truly benefits his people will also glorify his name — and remembering to consistently, joyfully give thanks to him by Jesus Christ is our opportunity to consciously, purposefully do both!

Be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

What criteria do you use in order to decide for or against a particular action, ambition, or way of life? Do you weigh the financial benefit, the career advancement, or perhaps the physical pleasure that any given opportunity may afford?

Paul tells us, first, to walk as children of light. In other words, our lives ought to be radically, fundamentally, unmistakably different than those who do not claim Christ as their Lord and Savior. Light is glaringly different than darkness. 

We should not be asking the same questions that any one in the world would ask in our same situation. We should not be making decisions that reflect the priorities and self-seeking ways of sinful, unsaved individuals. We should not have the same goals as those who don’t have an eternal perspective.

In short, Paul says, we should be testing everything to see, not whether it is pleasing to our palate or to the world, but what is acceptable to the Lord. Is this thing in agreement with his Word? Will this draw me closer to Christ? Does this further the cause of Christ in the world, through me? 

Thankfully, God has not left us in the dark regarding how to walk as children of light. We do not have to guess about what is pleasing to Christ. He has given us all we need to know about his desires and pleasures by communicating them to us in his Word.

Therefore, take his Word, discover what is acceptable to the Lord, and walk in it as a child of light.