For it is better while doing good, if he should desirously will the desirous will of God, to suffer than while doing wrong (1 Peter 3:17).
The desirous will describes the things we want, from which our determination arises. However, we do not always carry out everything we desire. Circumstances, lack of opportunity, or competing strong desires may prevent the fulfillment of a particular desire. Setting Christ apart as Lord in our lives involves seeking God’s desires for our life above our own.
Sanctifying Christ as Lord in our lives is the Christian’s recognition that Christ is his Master—set apart from all others—and therefore the One he obeys above all else. This mindset produces a lifestyle of separation unto God, which will inevitably bring persecution from unbelievers. However, rather than hiding who we are, we are to be ready to give a verbal defense for the hope that is in us (1 Peter 3:15). In this way, we will maintain a good conscience even when others speak against us, accusing us of wrongdoing. They revile our beneficial conduct in Christ because we are luminaries in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, manifesting the light of Christ within us (Philippians 2:15). Therefore, since we will suffer for being a Christian, let that suffering be for doing good, not for doing wrong.