“Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.”
Therefore
The “therefore” indicates that this is a summary statement for Christians who suffer. This verse is the punch line of this section of First Peter; it is the application of all this teaching on trials. If Christians are not to retaliate, what are they to do? “Commit.”
let those who suffer
Nothing that comes our way arrives by accident (1 Pe 2:20; 3:17). God processes everything that comes into our lives. When Satan came to God for permission to put duress on Job, God took down the “hedge” around him. God has a hedge around each of us. Nothing comes into our lives without going through that hedge. No disaster comes our way without God’s approval. As the sovereign God, He must concur with any event that enters our lives.
according to the will of God
The words “according to” mean norm or standard. Our suffering must be according to the norm or standard of the will of God. “Will” implies purpose, plan, or design. Everything that comes into our lives comes by the standard of divine design. Nothing comes into our lives that God does not process by his will. If God wills suffering, then so be it. It is better to suffer in the will of God than out of it. If God wills something for our lives, then he will give us sustaining grace.
PRINCIPLE:
Nothing can happen to us without God concurring with it.
APPLICATION:
The doctrine of God concurring with the events of our lives is sadly neglected today. This doctrine is part of the providence of God. In God’s providence, he controls all events, all thoughts, all plans for his glory.
It is assuring for us to know that life is not capricious and that God controls everything in our lives.
"If God wills suffering then so be it. It is better to suffer in the will of God than out of it. If God wills something for our lives then he will give us sustaining grace."
Your words beg the question: Are doctors here to get people out of the will of God since it is His will that they suffer?
Tom, I do not attempt to answer every global issue in every one of these studies but try to be faithful to the explicit statements in the passage. Obviously part of God's will is to provide medical doctors to heal such as Paul's personal physician–Luke.
Part of God's sovereignty is to allow for free moral agency. However, even that free will is not absolute but within the more general sovereignty of God.