Hope and Help for the Trials of Motherhood: Part 7

A Mother's Hope


"And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you." (1 Peter 5:10)


Have you ever had one of those days that seems like it will NEVER end? You know, the kind that starts at 4:00 a.m. with a bed-wetter and you being unable to go back to sleep, and continues into 3 cups of milk spilled in one breakfast. Then, as you realize that you forgot to pay the phone bill again, the baby spits up all over himself and the play gym. You go to clean him up and discover that the toddler has clogged the toilet with some toy and it is overflowing all over the bathroom floor. And right now, she's colouring on the living room wall. Oh, and there goes the 4th cup of milk... on the carpet this time. Of course, this is also the day that your husband calls and says he has to work late. You want to go back to bed and hide under the covers.


Would it make any difference in your attitude that day if instead of calling and saying he had to work late, your husband called and told you that your sister was coming over with dinner for the kids at 5, and he was taking you out for a quiet evening at your favourite restaurant and had picked out a special gift for you, just for all the hard work you put into taking care of the kids all day every day? Would you be motivated to clean up all the messes with a little more energy and a smile? Would the day suddenly feel a little shorter? Would you be remembering with each new task that your evening of quiet and refreshment and time with the one you love most was coming soon? 


How different our outlook on trials and suffering is when we have the hope of good things to come! And God is gracious to give us promises of future glory to cling to when our world feels like it is falling apart. He has not left us in the dark about what is coming. Of course, we don't know all the specifics, but the Bible is clear that whatever it looks like in the specifics, the future of every believer is GLORIOUS - empty of condemnation, full of rewards and an eternity of loving and worshiping our Saviour without any hindrances! 


Sometimes our days feel long. Sometimes our LIFE feels long. But Peter assures us in 1 Peter 5:10 that after we have suffered a little while, there will be glory. He holds this forth as a truth to sustain us and give us joy even in the midst of the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day... or month... or year. 


First, he says that our suffering is really only for "a little while". Though it may seem like an eternity to us, our earthly suffering is actually only very brief. The Bible continually refers to man's life as a vapour, a flower that is here today and gone tomorrow. From the view of eternity, 70-80 years is VERY short. You suffer here for fewer decades than you can count on your fingers, and then you get forever and ever and ever, world without end of glory. So when your days feel long, hope in the eternal joy that will be far, far longer than you can even imagine!


Then Peter points us to the "God of all grace". When our earthly suffering is long and hard, we need to hope in the God who is gracious to save us from all eternal suffering through the death and resurrection of Jesus, who took the suffering for our sins in our place. We need to hope in the God who is gracious to care for us even through suffering, the God whose grace is sufficient for us, and whose power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9-10; See the end of Dear Mothers of Newborns for more on that). We need to hope in the God of all grace, who has such a future of grace and eternal glory planned for us that it is beyond the scope of our imagination!


Furthermore, we have hope in the fact that we've been "called to his eternal glory in Christ". This is not a wishing kind of hope, like when we say, "I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow." This is a hope that is sure, because is dependent on God's call, not on our dreams or effort. And while we who are called should work out our salvation with fear and trembling, our hope is in the fact that God's gifts and His calling are irrevocable (Romans 11:29), that those whom He has called, He also justifies and glorifies (Romans 8:29-30), that He who has called you is faithful and will sustain you to the end (1 Corinthians 1:4-9). God has promised, God does not lie, and He has already shown His faithfulness in sending Christ to be our high priest, and therefore we have a sure and steadfast hope, an anchor for our souls on those long days of trial (Hebrews 6:17-20).


There is, in fact, even more hope to be found in this one little verse, but in order to keep the post size manageable (I really am trying to do that!), I will write on the last part of the verse tomorrow.