1 Peter 4:12-13
“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.”
1 Peter 4:12-13 NIV
As Christians, we are citizens of heaven who are passing through a cursed world which is filled with condemned sinners who are in need of Christ's forgiveness and God has given us everything we need to live a victorious Christian life in this fallen world. But too many Christians wrongly think that a victorious Christian life is a happy, trouble free existence where every whim of our heart is magically fulfilled by some sugar daddy in the sky, cherry picking Scriptures that prove this false interpretation of the Word while proclaiming that the problem of others results from their lack of faith. This could not be further from the truth. But how few even turn to Scripture to discover the principles and practices of what it really means to live godly in Christ. God’s favor follows you. This is not just a phrase to encourage you, it’s a fact based on passage after passage of Scripture. Yet very few in the church live as if this is true. You may have marital struggles and wonder if the tension with your spouse will ever turn around. Or you may suffer from depression and wonder if it will ever lift so that you can feel the favor of God again. Perhaps you have a prodigal child and wonder if he will ever return to faith. Or maybe you have a sibling who is an addict and wonder if she will ever be free from her bondage after years of indulging her habit. I can guarantee you no Christian ever pictured himself being in seasons like these. No one ever imagined enduring hardships that outweigh the comfort they feel from God. Yet Peter tells us we are not to think that such trials are unusual. Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. Our life trials are not, as some suggest, a lack of faith or God's punishment, but a purifying tool that God uses to hone and refine His children to develop our trust and dependence upon Him. God's purpose in each of our lives is to educate, discipline, and train us in righteousness and the fiery trials that come upon us are used by Him to try us, as the furnace tries silver to cut deep into our fleshly nature and polish off all the fleshly dross that contaminates our new life in Christ so that by grace through faith we will not murmur, but humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, knowing that He has promised to exalt us in due time. So let us accept life's fiery trial as a beautiful child training tool to conform us into Christlikeness, and yield to His gracious child training so that in the end, we will come forth as pure gold. If you are in the midst of an excruciating season of life, I have a sure word for you. Hold on. The Lord is not finished with you. You may think you are alone in your predicament, but all along God has been storing up blessings for you that you never dreamed of. As Peter states, his glory is going to be revealed through your trial!!!
Father thank you for this day and Your life sustaining Word. Lord let Your abundant blessings pour out over my friend and family today. Lord there is a part of us that wants to have a nice, easy, trouble free existence and yet we know that this life is a training ground to draw us closer to You and to conform me, day by day, into the likeness of Christ. May I not be surprised at the fiery ordeals that I am called upon to endure, but embrace them as Your gracious child training programme to make me more like Christ. Use me in this sin-sick world to comfort others with the same comfort that I receive from You!!!
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