The apostle Peter walked with Jesus, and he had stories to tell. Stories about Jesus healing the sick (his mother-in-law, for one), calming the sea, walking on water, feeding the five thousand, and raising the dead. He could tell you how he stood at a distance and watched Jesus die, then saw them take his body down and place it in a tomb. He could also tell you that three days later, he found the tomb empty and Jesus alive! His readers had not seen Jesus, but he had. One of the reasons he wrote this book was to hand off the faith to the next generation.

1 Peter 1:8-9
Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

We are in the same boat as the recipients of this letter. Someone handed off the faith to us. We have not seen Jesus, but we have seen him transform lives—our lives and the lives of family and friends. We love him and trust him even though we haven’t seen him.

I don’t know what you are experiencing today, but I know this promise. If you have trusted in Jesus alone as the only way to have a relationship with the living God, Peter says you can “rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory.” You can obtain the “outcome of your faith.” What Jesus started, he will finish. So be encouraged. Whether you are having a “mountain top” or “valley” kind of day, rejoice in the One who has transformed your life.

Father, thank you for love and faith—absent from sight but present through your Spirit. In Jesus’ name. Amen.