1 Peter 4:13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
God makes a promise: you will be glad with exceeding joy when Christ’s glory will be revealed. God grants joy now and peace through faith in the gospel, but that is nothing compared to the abiding and exceeding joy that will be ours when Jesus returns in glory. Here on earth our joy is tainted with sin and mixed with sadness. The promise of pure and exceeding joy in heaven is enough to keep our spirits hopeful through the darker days of life on earth.
However, connected to this promise of joy is the truth that we are “partakers of Christ’s sufferings.” Remember that Sin, Death, and the Devil hate us and continually seek to make our lives miserable and full of pain and suffering. Remember also that through suffering we enter into glory. And remember that persecution is expected and predicted. ”We must through much tribulation enter the kingdom of God.”
We remember and rejoice that God has interjected Himself in human history, into our lives, to bring us Good News of Great Joy. This fruit of Joy overcomes the pains, sufferings, and deaths we experience in this life. This inner joy and the hope of exceeding joy sustains and strengthens us daily