05/12/2026
Tuesday Devotional: 1 Peter 3:16b-17
Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing evil.
Suffering is never a word we welcome. We avoid it, resist it, and hope it never comes near our lives. We want joy, comfort, and days filled with good things. Even in church, we sometimes hope the message will lift us up without asking anything difficult of us. We don’t want to hear about hardship. We don’t want to think about pain.
But suffering is part of life. No matter how faithfully we live, there will be moments when things don’t go our way. There will be people who misunderstand us, dislike us, or even try to tear us down. There is real skepticism, real hostility, and real spiritual opposition in the world. And sometimes, it lands on us.
Peter doesn’t pretend otherwise. Instead, he tells us how to stand firm when it happens. He urges us to keep our conscience clear and to stay rooted in Christ, to continue doing what is right, even when it is costly. If suffering comes because we are following Jesus, then that suffering is not meaningless. It becomes part of our witness.
When we choose the way of Christ, even when the world pushes back, our faith becomes unmistakably real. Our integrity speaks louder than any accusation, and our perseverance becomes a testimony that cannot be silenced.
Pastor Bill
