Psalm 119:153 Not Distracted by Suffering

Look on my suffering and deliver me,
 for I have not forgotten your law.
Psalm 119:153

A quote from an article I wrote for Christian Standard back in February, 2016:

A once great nation is in the throes of transition from a democratic republic to a de facto dictatorship.

A neophyte has been given the reigns of power, to which some critics maintain he has no birthright. The gap between the super rich and the middle class is widening. People from other countries covet the benefits of citizenship, yet the nation’s reputation among the rest of the world is declining.

Christians find themselves increasingly at odds with the policies and morals of the nation. They’re seen as dangerous dissenters by those in charge and are increasingly marginalized and persecuted for their beliefs.

No, the neophyte leader’s name is not Obama and the nation is not America.

It's the Roman Empire during the reign of Nero. This was the world in which Christians were living when Peter wrote his first epistle to the saints in Rome. Many will see parallels between their situation and ours.

In one important regard, the situations are far from similar.

Peter, advising his readers how to respond, does not lay out a plan for political action. He doesn’t even mention Nero by name and drops only a few veiled hints to let them know he’s even aware of the current political situation in Rome. He doesn’t speak disparagingly about the government, doesn’t insult the leaders, and doesn’t pass along the latest rumors and jokes about the emperor.

Peter, faced with a political situation similar to what quite a few Christians see as our current circumstances, is somehow able to respond in such a different manner from so much of what is heard in many churches and posted by believers on social media today.

Who would have guessed that Peter, best known for blurting out the first awkwardly blunt thing that pops into his head, would be the one to let theology be his guide for how to be a Christian in the public square?

How did Peter change from the hot head to this highly focused wise elder? The same way David changed from young shepherd to wise King and spiritual leader.

Even while the political situations of their day were polarized and often dangerous for people of faith, they knew where to go to keep their minds focused and their motivations centered. Their driving influence was not their worries about suffering or their opinions about politics or their personal ambitions.

They trusted on God to deliver them to where He wanted them to be, because they never forgot His Law, the Word they had written on their hearts.