“To suffer… all kinds of trials… have
come so that your faith… may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory
and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
1 Peter 1:6-7
There is a common perception today
that faith in Jesus Christ will exempt us from the trials and hardships of
life, especially those with regard to health, happiness and prosperity. Then
when people but this idea, and discover later that their prayers will not
always turn back the hostility of a world, they are disappointed and
disillusioned.
Peter addressed this issue in the
first letter which bears his name. He says the believer’s response is not
fighting fire with fire but rather to rejoice because the Spirit of glory and
of Christ rests in him. Jesus said we are to rejoice when people persecute us
and say all manner of evil against us because they persecuted the prophets
before as well.
When times of difficulty come for
you, there are promises which accompany them, which we seldom remember.
First, times of difficulty are
accompanied by the promise of His presence. Jesus said, “In this world you will
have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world!” (John 16:33). He also
promised, “I will be with you always” (Matthew 28:20).
Second, the trials which come to us
also come with the promise of His protection. Peter again wrote that we are
“shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be
revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little
while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials” (1 Peter 1:6-7).
Third, there is also the promise of
His purging or cleansing. Although we would rather avoid difficult times, good
always comes out of them. Peter talked about our faith as just like gold which
is put into the furnace to be refined.
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