“And after you have suffered a little while…” (1 Peter 5:10)

If God has defeated the devil and will one day bring all suffering to an end, then why is he waiting? Why does it have to be a little while more?

Have you ever found yourself asking that? Why does God delay? If the war has been won, then why let the battles go on?

As I prayed and thought at least two answers came to mind. First, God waits yet a little while more because God is compassionate and patient. In 2 Peter 3:9 we read this:“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

In other words, God patiently allows the temporary suffering of his children now to relive the forever suffering of those who have yet to repent and trust in Christ. God in his infinite mercy, desires to see all people saved and takes no delight in destruction of the wicked[1], so he waits that others might come to repent of their sin.

And as we’ve seen throughout 1 Peter, it’s often when others see us suffering with a supreme delight in Jesus that they are captured by the truth of the gospel themselves. In that way, God uses our temporary suffering to alleviate others from eternal suffering.

A second reason God waits is because his ultimate aim is not just to defeat Satan, but display his superior beauty that brings about our supreme joy. I rely on a pastor by the name of John Piper for insight here: “Christ could simply exert sovereign power and snuff Satan out. That would indeed glorify Christ’s power. But it would not display so clearly the superior worth of Jesus over Satan…The aim of the gospel is to put the glory of the crucified Christ on display and to shame Satan by the millions of people who…forsake Satan’s lies in preference for the beauty of Christ…If Christ obliterated all demons now (which he could do), his sheer power would be seen as glorious, but his superior beauty and worth would not shine so brightly as when God’s people renounce the promises of Satan, trust in Christ’s blood and righteousness, and take pleasure in the greater glory of Jesus revealed in the gospel.”[2]

So God waits because he wants the gospel to shine most clearly; he wants the supremacy and sufficiency of Christ to be painted on the canvas of our soul with the most vibrancy we can behold. And this is good news because not only does it bring God glory, but it brings us joy. For all of eternity we will see Christ for who is, not just for his power, but for his beauty and worth. God is after your eternal joy so he waits so he can magnify the one thing, the One Person, who fulfills that joy for you.