The NIV 365 Day Devotional

How to Face Unjust Suffering

Here in this passage, Peter begins from the simple recognition that Christians will, at some point, suffer unjustly when they live as disciples in the world. Christians are not to seek out suffering or to avoid it; but when suffering comes, Christians are to accept that suffering as an invitation to imitate Christ and bear witness to Christ’s life in a particular kind of way. In other words, unjust suffering is not something that exists outside of God’s care; it is an occasion for following in Christ’s footsteps. In imitating Christ in this way, the Christian trusts that the God who raised Christ from the dead—after Christ suffered unjustly himself—will likewise care for us when we suffer unjustly.

Taken from the NIV Upside-Down Kingdom Bible.