For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

Do you suffer well?

Most people do not volunteer to suffer and only go through it against their will. Even though it is a certainty and requirement for faith, we find ourselves like the child pouting for allowance for the chores he has to do. God does not put us into suffering merely to take us out of it. Developing tunnel vision for alleviation or compensation can leave us blind to answers that God graciously provides, often right before our eyes.

Peter seeks to encourage and train us by unfolding scripture in a peculiar way.

He begins by pointing out the sufficiency of Christ’s work on the cross (v 18), stressing the significance of it being a one-time event. In a world with expiration dates, broken promises, and fine print it almost seems foreign to trust that something done multiple millennia ago is still valid.

He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. Hebrews 7:27

So what about Noah and baptism?

Like the eight persons, following the commands of Christ remains an unpopular calling. But it was through these faithful few that God was able to administer mercy in the midst of a terrible wrath. Baptism’s appeal to a good conscience is to remind us that God is no longer angry with us. No matter how badly we falter, Christ’s one redeeming work has so changed the Father’s disposition towards us that it is now always love and mercy.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1

So, the suffering of the eight and your suffering today are not the foretastes of an eternal wrath but the loving hand of discipline and correction, preparing you for eternal glory. There is nothing to fear, only joy to look forward to!

For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:11

When we come to realize what suffering we have avoided, our present setbacks become more bearable. A day of chores inside is much more preferable to hard labor out in the field. Stay the desires to grumble about the petty things that do not turn out as you expect. If God is holy, you won’t think like him most of the time. Expect to be surprised.