May 14, 2020 EMBRACING THE TRIAL –KEEP ON REJOICING
1 Peter 4:12: “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation.”
I don’t know about you, but I do not like trials and conflicts-never have. In fact, most of us do our best to live a life free of conflict and trials. Peter is primarily referring to the “fiery ordeals” that come because of their commitment to follow Christ. In our day and time, in America, we do not yet see a lot of suffering as the result of being Christian-if things continue on their present course, we will see an increase in suffering that takes place for following Christ. In this article I want to talk about trials, conflicts, and suffering in a broad sense. Some trials we face are of our own making; self- inflicted, a result of bad decisions, and has nothing to do with our being a Christian. Some trials come from things beyond our control. Regardless of the origin of our trials and no matter the severity of the trials; how we face or respond to the trials and “fiery ordeals” is crucial. Every human being will have to deal with trials-some more than others it seems, so we should not be surprised when they come. We should not live life thinking that we will not have trials; we should not be surprised when they come our way. Trials are not random events that just happen and there is a purpose behind the trials. Trials have a way of exposing our heart and they reveal our level of trust that we have in our Father-trials do indeed test us. While we do not like the trial, what we learn in the trial and how we do on the test is the good fruit that comes from the trial. Verse 13 goes on to say: “but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing so that at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation.” The idea of rejoicing in suffering may sound contradictory to us, but if we understand that our suffering in some way brings glory to God, then we can rejoice. Also, if we suffer because of our faith, we will have every reason to “rejoice with exultation” when Jesus appears. It may be minor by comparison, but we will encounter some suffering-some resistance-if we are being a witnesses in a dark world because we will come across those who reject anything and anyone connected to God. It is our place not to fear suffering, but to embrace all that our Father allows in our life-including suffering and trials. We can be assured that the trials have a purpose and we can be assured that our Father will not forsake us.
James 1:12: “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him.”
James 1:2-3: “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.”
Psalms 34:17-18: “When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
Blessings,
Buddy
1 Peter 4:12: “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation.”
I don’t know about you, but I do not like trials and conflicts-never have. In fact, most of us do our best to live a life free of conflict and trials. Peter is primarily referring to the “fiery ordeals” that come because of their commitment to follow Christ. In our day and time, in America, we do not yet see a lot of suffering as the result of being Christian-if things continue on their present course, we will see an increase in suffering that takes place for following Christ. In this article I want to talk about trials, conflicts, and suffering in a broad sense. Some trials we face are of our own making; self- inflicted, a result of bad decisions, and has nothing to do with our being a Christian. Some trials come from things beyond our control. Regardless of the origin of our trials and no matter the severity of the trials; how we face or respond to the trials and “fiery ordeals” is crucial. Every human being will have to deal with trials-some more than others it seems, so we should not be surprised when they come. We should not live life thinking that we will not have trials; we should not be surprised when they come our way. Trials are not random events that just happen and there is a purpose behind the trials. Trials have a way of exposing our heart and they reveal our level of trust that we have in our Father-trials do indeed test us. While we do not like the trial, what we learn in the trial and how we do on the test is the good fruit that comes from the trial. Verse 13 goes on to say: “but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing so that at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation.” The idea of rejoicing in suffering may sound contradictory to us, but if we understand that our suffering in some way brings glory to God, then we can rejoice. Also, if we suffer because of our faith, we will have every reason to “rejoice with exultation” when Jesus appears. It may be minor by comparison, but we will encounter some suffering-some resistance-if we are being a witnesses in a dark world because we will come across those who reject anything and anyone connected to God. It is our place not to fear suffering, but to embrace all that our Father allows in our life-including suffering and trials. We can be assured that the trials have a purpose and we can be assured that our Father will not forsake us.
James 1:12: “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him.”
James 1:2-3: “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.”
Psalms 34:17-18: “When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
Blessings,
Buddy
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