It is amazing to think about how the stories of the Bible, though written thousands of years ago, continue to be absolutely relevant today.  While we go through 1 Peter together as a church family, Dean has emphasized that this letter was written to suffering Christians that were viewed as outcasts by society.  Nothing has changed; as Christians, we all still suffer various trials (1 Peter 1:6) and wrestle with living as "aliens and ambassadors."  And just like the Christ-followers of the churches to whom Peter wrote, finding a way to live uncompromising lives devoted to Jesus while living among the culture of their cities is often a challenging task.

The last three months of my life have been incredibly challenging, as my role as "alien and ambassador" has changed.  Having graduated from FSU in early August, I waved good-bye to 18+ years of being a student and began a new career as a teacher.  Though I felt reasonably prepared for the amount of work teaching required, it quickly proved to be even more demanding than anticipated.  I have honestly never put more effort into anything before in my life.  Those who know me well always saw me as laid back, carefree, and joyful; I neither felt nor experienced any of these things after two weeks on the job.  I lost sleep over daily occurrences, woke up exhausted and overwhelmed every day, and felt little passion for my job.  I became weighed down by the terrifying thought that all the effort put in to getting a teaching degree amounted to nothing joyful or fruitful.  And what discouraged me the most was that I was able to recognize my unmerited negative attitude, and yet was not able to change it no matter how hard I tried.

But God has a greater plan for us when we suffer and experience trials.  God always intends for our suffering to result in our growth with Him.  Suffering produces perseverance, character, and hope (Romans 5:3-5) and also proves our faith to be genuine (1 Peter 1:7).  Within the first couple of weeks of teaching, God made it clear to me that this was a trial that I would suffer, endure, and overcome; He also made it known that it would be beyond challenging, yet absolutely worth it.  

I had to begin to check my attitude multiple times daily to make sure I was doing "everything in the name of the Lord Jesus" (Col 3:17).  It wasn't easy, and still isn't.  Some days I still don't feel like going to teach middle and high schoolers; however, I know that I am called, not employed, to do so for the rest of this school year.  The days of going to work excited are now outweighing the exhausted days.  Figuring out my role as a Christian teacher in public schools has also not been easy.  I don't enjoy yelling at kids.  That's not my personality.  I want to maintain an orderly class while showing Christ's love -- I have a loving Father who disciplines me, and God has shown me that I can discipline my students in love.  I am still learning how to best do this.  I am still learning how to be an "alien and ambassador" with my students, coworkers, and administrators.  Yet I cannot deny both how joyful and how difficult learning all of this has been.

Like the people receiving Peter's first letter, we all experience suffering and trials in various ways and severity.  God always works things out for our ultimate good(Romans 8:28).  Getting through our trials is not always quick, easy, or glamorous.  It takes effort on our part, and may not yield glamorous results at first glance.  But when we persevere and continually rely on Jesus, He grows us in our faith, making it more genuine, and this truly results in genuine praise and inexpressible joy (1 Peter 1:7-9).

(John Thayer is originally from Ohio and graduated from Florida State University in August 2012 with a Masters in Music Education and teaches at Leon High School and Raa Middle School. John can be seen playing in the City Church band on Sundays.)