Do not be surprised by the fire
Peter on expected trials
Peter writes to suffering Christians with a curious comfort: beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. The comfort is not that the fire will not come, but that it is not strange. Suffering is not a sign that something has gone wrong with your calling; it is a normal, expected part of it. The surprise itself can be half the pain.
Leaders often add a second burden to their trials: the shock that they are happening at all. They assumed that if they were doing the right thing, opposition and hardship would not come — and so each trial arrives with a disorienting question, what did I do wrong? Peter removes that surprise. The fiery trial is to be expected, not feared as an anomaly. The leader who knows trials are normal can meet them with steadiness rather than the added distress of feeling singled out or mistaken.
“In the world you have trouble; but cheer up! I have overcome the world.”
— Jesus, on trouble in the world — John 16:33 (WEB)
Suffering is a normal, expected part of the calling, not a sign something has gone wrong. The surprise itself can be half the pain.
“Beloved, don't be astonished at the fiery trial which has come upon you to test you, as though a strange thing happened to you.”
Peter strips away the shock that trials are happening at all. A leader formed here expects the fire rather than treating it as an anomaly. The inner work is removing the added distress of feeling singled out or mistaken.
Prepare yourself and your team to expect trials rather than be blindsided by them. Refuse the disorienting assumption that hardship means you did something wrong. Meet the fire with steadiness because you knew it would come.
Leaders assume that doing right should spare them hardship, so each trial brings shock and self-doubt. The blind spot is treating expected suffering as evidence of failure.
Notice where a current trial carries the extra sting of surprise. This week, reframe it as the expected fire and meet it with steadiness.
Leaders add a second burden to their trials — the shock that they're happening at all, as if hardship meant they had done something wrong. Peter removes the surprise: the fire is normal, not strange.
Are you treating your trials as strange anomalies, or as the expected fire?