My title comes from the book of Job, Job 19:20. It is clear that Peter is thinking of something similar when he considers the difficulties that face the child of God on the pilgrimage to heaven. The righteous are saved through great difficulty is the meaning of the phrase in verse 18. That is not because of any want or deficiency in the atoning work of Christ or in the power of God to preserve His saints. No, it is because of the sanctifying processes that God brings His people through and because of the opposition encountered by the Christian from his own sinful nature, the world around and the devil, our great opponent. Peter informs believers that a season of intense persecution is approaching. Such treatment is not to be considered strange. Rather, let it be seen as a badge of honour, verse13. Those who suffered for Christ, must suffer like Christ. He was not taken up with His own sufferings but was thinking of those who caused His sufferings, Luke 23:34. That spirit is seen in these words of Peter. What lay before the people of God toward the end of the first century was most severe trial indeed. And yet, they are found thinking of the ungodly and expressing concern for them.