Where in your life are you experiencing the kind of "fiery trial" Peter describes? What would change if you stopped being surprised by it and started looking for what God might be doing in it?

Peter writes to Christians scattered across the Roman Empire — believers being insulted, beaten, and in some places killed for their faith. His first word to them is not a strategy. It is a posture. Don't be surprised. Many of us were sold a quieter version of the Christian life — one where, once you walk through the door of faith, the trouble stays outside. That is not the Christian life Peter is describing, and it is not the Christian life Jesus described. He told His disciples plainly, *"In the world you will have tribulation."* The road of faith is not a road around suffering. It is a road that passes through it. The Bible is a book written by suffering people to suffering people. Joseph in Pharaoh's dungeon, falsely accused. Daniel in the lions' den. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

What hard thing in your life have you been asking "why me?" about? What would change if you re-asked it today as "why me, Lord — what is Your purpose in this?"

When suffering arrives — the bad report from your doctor, the call about your son or daughter, the empty side of the bed — almost everyone reaches for the same first question. *Why me?* It is the most natural question in the world. And it is, with respect, the wrong one. Consider Job. For most of the book that bears his name, Job presses God with that question. *Why me, God? Why are You doing this?* And chapter after chapter, God does not answer. When God finally speaks — the longest unbroken speech by God the Father anywhere in Scripture — He never tells Job *why.* He simply tells Job *who.* I am God. You are not. And Job, who has lost everything, who is sitting in ashes scraping his sores with broken pottery, replies, *"Though he slay me, I will hope in him."* Job did not get the answe

What in your life feels random, senseless, or wasted? How does it reframe that thing to remember there are no maverick molecules in God's universe?

Ben Sasse — former US senator, now president of the University of Florida — was diagnosed last year with stage four pancreatic cancer. The kind that, statistically, ends a person within a year or two. In an interview with CBS, he was asked whether his faith in God had been shaken. He said no. And then he said this: *"There are no maverick molecules in the universe."* Not one. Not the cell that turned cancerous. Not the drunk driver who ran the red light. Not the news report that gutted you on Tuesday afternoon. Whatever it is, it did not catch God by surprise. He either allowed it or sent it. That is not a sentimental verse you stitch on a pillow. That is the towering claim of biblical Christianity. Paul says it with even more weight in Romans 8:28: *for those who love God all things wo

Of the four anchors — appointment, keeping, training, timing — which one do you most need to hear from God today, and why?

When you cannot see what God is doing, hold on to what He has said. Andrew Murray, the great South African pastor of a century ago, gave the church a four-line catechism for the seasons when you do not know what to do next. It is short enough to memorize, and deep enough to live in. *First: God brought me here.* It is by His will that I am in this difficult place — and in that fact I will rest. *Second: He will keep me here in His love.* He will give me grace to behave as His child while I am here. *Third: He will make the trial a blessing.* He will teach me the lessons He intends for me to learn. *Fourth: In His good time He can bring me out again.* How and when, He knows. Or, as Murray summed it up himself: *I am here by God's appointment, in His keeping, under His training, for Hi

Where in your week ahead do you most need to remember that the pattern is suffering, judgment, and glory — that glory is the last word, not the trial?

There is a pattern in Scripture, and it runs through every story God tells. Suffering. Judgment. Glory. Jesus suffered — so your suffering is not meaningless. Jesus submitted to the judgment of men — so you might stand un-condemned before the judgment of God. Jesus endured death — so you might have life. Jesus conquered hell — so you might enter heaven. That is the cross-shaped pattern of the Christian life, and it is not optional. It is the road. C.S. Lewis put it like this in *The Problem of Pain:* *"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world."* Sometimes God has to hurt us in order for us to pay attention. Not because He is cruel — but because we are stubborn. The pain is the megaphone. It is mean

Peter says the fiery trial is not strange — it is the lot of God's people. What story did you grow up with about whether Christians should expect to suffer? Where did that story come from, and how is it holding up?

Don't be surprised by suffering — the Bible was written by suffering people to suffering people, and the pattern is always suffering, judgment, glory.

Kent reframed the question from 'why me?' to 'why me, Lord — what is Your purpose in this?' What's a hard thing in your life right now you've been asking 'why me?' about? What changes if you ask it the second way?

Don't be surprised by suffering — the Bible was written by suffering people to suffering people, and the pattern is always suffering, judgment, glory.

Ben Sasse, facing stage-four cancer, said there are no maverick molecules in the universe — nothing is outside God's care. What in your life feels random, senseless, or wasted? How does it reframe that thing to remember that?

Don't be surprised by suffering — the Bible was written by suffering people to suffering people, and the pattern is always suffering, judgment, glory.

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What About? (Week 7)

But What About Suffering? · Resources

1 Peter 4:12-19

Kent Keller Sunday, May 24, 2026

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Summary

Kent Keller takes on the hardest question in the But What About? series: if God is all good, all loving and all powerful, why is there so much suffering? Peter's answer in 1 Peter 4 is three warnings - don't be surprised by suffering, don't be unprepared for judgment, and don't lose sight of the outcome.

Sermon Outline

1

The Hardest Question We Ask ▶ 0:00

Kent names the question head on - if God is all good, all loving and all powerful, why is there so much sin, suffering and evil? - and reads 1 Peter 4:12-19.
2

Everybody Is Somewhere on the Scale ▶ 3:16

Joni's observation: you can minister to people suffering at your level or below, but not above it. We are all broken, all hurting, all suffering at some level.
3

Nobody Says "Why Me?" After the Lottery ▶ 4:08

Peter says don't be surprised by the fiery trial. We never ask why me when something good happens - and God's most faithful servants have often suffered the most.
4

The Hebrews 11 Roll Call ▶ 6:01

Joseph in Pharaoh's dungeon, Daniel with the lions, the three men in the furnace, John the Baptist, Stephen under the rocks - and Jesus on the way to the cross. Every one of them could have asked why me.
5

Job Asked for Thirty-Five Chapters ▶ 7:44

God never told Job why. The longest unbroken speech of God in the Bible comes down to "I'm God and you're not" - and Job said that was enough.
6

Not "Why Me?" but "Why Me, Lord?" ▶ 9:03

The question that helps is not why this happened but what God's purpose in it is. He may never tell you - and knowing there is a purpose is enough to keep you sane.
7

God Became One of Us ▶ 10:50

What makes the Christian gospel unique is that God entered our suffering himself. The only man-made things in heaven will be the scars in Jesus' hands, feet, side and forehead.
8

Don't Be Unprepared for Judgment ▶ 12:47

After hundreds of funerals, and a father who died suddenly at 55, Kent says life is fragile and time is precious. One day we all run out of days.
9

Either He Sent It, or It's All Random ▶ 18:29

If you believe in a sovereign God, what you are going through was either allowed or sent. The alternative is an unordained universe with no meaning at all - make your choice.
10

Big Enough to Blame, Big Enough to Trust ▶ 21:18

Alvin Plantinga's answer: if God is powerful enough that we hold him accountable for what goes wrong, we must also allow that he is wise enough to have reasons we cannot see.
11

Suffering, Then Judgment, Then Glory ▶ 22:35

The pattern of the gospel, in order. Jesus suffered, so our suffering has meaning; he submitted to the judgment of men so we could stand before God.
12

Four Anchors in Times of Trial ▶ 24:26

Andrew Murray's practical word to hold onto: I am here by God's appointment, in his keeping, under his training, for his time.

Key Points

Peter tells us not to be surprised by the fiery trial. Christians get no pass, and church history shows God's most faithful servants are often the ones who suffer most.
Nobody cries "why me?" when they win the lottery. The question worth asking is not why me but why me, Lord - what is your purpose in this pain?
God never answered Job's why. The longest unbroken speech of God in the Bible amounts to "I'm God and you're not," and Job accepted it.
The Christian gospel is unique in this: God has entered our suffering himself in Christ, and has suffered more than any of us ever will.
Peter's second warning is judgment. When God asks for an account, the only answer that will hold is that you were bought with the blood of Jesus Christ - all the rest is details.
If God is big enough that we blame him when things go wrong, we have to allow that he is big enough to have good reasons we cannot understand from where we stand.
The pattern runs in one direction: suffering, then judgment, then glory.

Quotable Moments

“There is a purpose in our pains. Whether we know what it is or not, knowing that there is a purpose is what will keep you sane in the middle of the night.” ▶ 7:17

“We don't have a God who doesn't understand. We don't have a God who sits back and says, well, that's really tough for you down there.” ▶ 11:13

“God wounds, but he wounds only to heal. God breaks, but he breaks only to mend. He puts to death, but he puts to death only to resurrect.” ▶ 11:54

“Jesus suffered, so our suffering has meaning. If Jesus did it, it cannot be meaningless.” ▶ 22:54

“I am here by God's appointment, in his keeping, under his training, for his time.” ▶ 25:15

Scripture

1 Peter 4:12-19 (ESV)

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. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. 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? And "If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?" Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

Romans 8:28 (ESV)

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Isaiah 41:10 (ESV)

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Take It With You

You may never learn why. Knowing that there is a purpose is what will hold you together in the middle of the night.
Pray for the thing to be taken away - and then, like Jesus in the garden, add: but if not, your will be done.
Say it over the hard place you are in right now: I am here by God's appointment, in his keeping, under his training, for his time.

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But What About Suffering? · Resources

1 Peter 4:12-19

Watch & Listen

Summary

Sermon Outline

Key Points

Quotable Moments

Scripture

Take It With You

Related Resources

Downloads

Related Reading

Does My Suffering Have a Purpose? What the Bible Actually Says

Greater Than Your Religion: Why Trying Harder Never Made Anyone Holy

The Good Shepherd Who Pursues the Lost: God's Heart in Luke 15

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