If you want God to restore you and make you ‘strong, firm and steadfast’, meditate prayerfully on these four Scriptures, and look for ways to put them into practice each day: 1) ‘Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time’ (v. 6 NIV). 2) ‘Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you’ (v. 7 NIV). 3) ‘Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour’ (v. 8 NIV). 4) ‘Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings’ (v. 9 NIV). Now, here is the result God promises when you walk in the truth of these four Scriptures: ‘And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast’ (v. 10 NIV). Note two important phrases here: ‘The God of all grace.’ Whatever you fear and whatever you have to face, God will give you the grace to handle it. ‘After you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong.’ If you are going through a season of stress, God has promised that it will lead to a season of strengthening. So when you pray, ‘Lord, take me out of this,’ He may answer, ‘No, I will take you through it and make you “firm and steadfast”.’

© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.