Last week we contemplated the whisper of hope as we began reading through Peter’s first letter to believers. Now I am at the beach, and mesmerizing waves sweep away all coherent thought, so this post will be brief.
The topic of our inheritance is a study in itself for another time. The inheritance is kept in heaven for those
“who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:5).
This verse hints at an eternal hope: everlasting and sure salvation from God’s wrath for those who have experienced the new birth (verse 3).
God’s power shields us. Some translations use the word shield because the word has a military connotation. The dictionary I read defined it as “protected, guarded as in keep watch in context of military.”1 Given that “guard” has the meaning to keep out the bad and protect or keep in the good, this phrase foreshadows later sections in which Peter wrote about believers’ enemies (physical and/or spiritual).
*What does God’s power shield us from?
*How has God’s power guarded you from evil and protected the good?
“Power” refers to God’s ability. He is able to keep us in spiritual safety. Concerning his (Paul’s) suffering, Paul assured Timothy with these words,
“I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day” (2 Timothy 1:12). And Daniel W. Whittle wrote a hymn with the refrain,
“But I know whom I have believed,
And am persuaded that he is able
To keep that which I’ve committed
Unto him against that day.”
*What does spiritual safety mean to you?
*What have you committed or entrusted to God until that day?
We’re not in a literal fortress, but we might as well be. In more than one of my posts, I’ve included a photo of a stone arch overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Originally built as a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) project, “by the early ‘40s, it was used as a lookout for enemy aircraft during World War II.”3 
Our hearts and spirits are guarded, protected, and shielded by God while we wait for our heavenly Home with Jesus.
According to Bible Hub, “salvation” is “God’s rescue which delivers believers out of destruction and into His safety.”4 We are shielded not from trials but from eternal death and destruction. I envision this as the difference between storm-tossed waves at the beach and a destructive tsunami. The next verse is the first (of many) in this letter that affirms believers will face trials.
We have hope even when we don’t understand the purpose of our trials. I wonder if Q is a factor: God’s unexpected answers and presence in the midst of questions and difficult times.
No wonder Paul wrote these words that encourage all believers as we wait for God to reveal our full and complete salvation.
*If God does not always shield us from stormy trials, how does He keep us through them?
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21).
*How have you seen God’s power at work in your life to protect you and shield you?
1 Bible Hub. 2004-2023. https://biblehub.com/1_peter/1-5.htm#lexicon
2 Logan Herod. “History of Hymns: ‘I Know Whom I Have Believed’”. Discipleship Ministries The United Methodist Church. August 7, 2019. https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/articles/history-of-hymns-i-know-whom-i-have-believed
3 Oregon Coast Beach Connection. September 11, 2016. https://www.beachconnection.net/news/perpetu091116_536.php
4 Bible Hub. 2004-2023. https://biblehub.com/greek/4991.htm