“though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith - more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire - may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:6-7
As I read through 1 Peter 1 today in my devotional it is painfully brought to a clearer reality at this point in my life when I am suffering from back pain and the loss of a job. Although compared to early Christians that were put to death for even admitting they were Christians this seems a very superficial suffering we have today. Of course Christ provided the ultimate suffer in our place with His death on the cross, but more so with His separation from the Father at the time all our sins were placed upon Him.
All this being said however suffering has its place for all Christians whether in the past, present. We often ask God through prayer during our times of suffering, “Why God? Why me, what have I done to deserve this?” We should be looking at what are to be the results of our current trials and know that God is not working against us, rather He is there for us. Three things we should look at as we are going through trials.
One is the time scale of our suffering in the whole scheme of things. “…though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,” 1 Peter 1:6. “For a little while”, “but I have been afflicted with this disease my entire life!” We have to understand and should as Christians this is not the end all be all of our existence. “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls…” 1 Peter 1:24
Two suffering reveals our genuineness of faith. We are blessed to live in a country that we can openly proclaim our belief in Jesus Christ, without the threat of being put to death just for that simple little statement. Obviously if you are about to be put to death and you are still proclaiming Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior your faith is fully tested and found genuine. So in our suffering today are we comforted that Jesus is our Lord and Savior, or is our faith found to be lacking. Do we wake up in a sweat in the middle of the night because of the horror our life have become without the job, or health we once had or do we sleep soundly through the night knowing that God is there with us every step of the way? What is the genuineness of your faith as you are going through the trials in your life?
Three it gives us the chance to see our own salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ. As we are going through the trials and take to heart the first two points we have this sense of joy and peace that go beyond that of this world and into the next. We have a home where treasure will be stored up for us as we go through the trials of this life. If however you had the perfect life here in this world with everything you have ever wanted then I would not be expecting much in the form of treasure in Heaven.
Have you ever had even the slightest bit of doubt in your heart if you were truly saved? You just might end up questioning it during times of trials and wonder if you are really a strong enough Christian. Ask yourself this question, “What do people see when they look at you, is it a reflection of the selfish world, or do they see a reflection of a selfless and loving God?
“Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for
“All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” 1 Peter 1:22-25
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