In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:6-9 NASB
In this scripture passage, Peter is speaking of rejoicing because of the awesome inheritance that awaits us in heaven. So, even if we must endure various trials, it should only serve as proof of our faith. We are told in James 1:2-4 that we should rejoice when we face trials because it produces steadfastness which brings us to perfection and completion and leaves us lacking in nothing.
A couple weeks ago, I attended two funerals of church members in less than one week. In both cases, while I cannot say that I rejoice in the loss of these dear Christian ladies, I can say that I rejoice for them and where they are now. I know that they are in heaven with Jesus. I know that they have reunited with those that have gone before them. As the companion of our church member said, we selfishly wish that she were still here. But, we know that she is in a much better place. We rejoice in their salvation and their completion of this life and their arrival in heaven where they will never again experience sadness or sorrow, but we mourn their loss.
There is nothing wrong with mourning, in fact, Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 3:4 that there is a time to weep, a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance. The bible doesn’t promise us that life will be one big rose garden down here. We are told in a number of passages that we must endure trials here on earth. If you are a people watcher like me, then you know that various people treat trials and tribulations in their life in various ways.
As Christians, we should know that trials are coming our way. We know that we will go through trials as a part of our refining process. It produces endurance or as our scripture passage says, it makes us steadfast. It is also a wonderful opportunity to prove our faith to others.
We will either see trials as disasters from which we will never recover, or we will see them as a bump in the road on our way to our final destination. Growing up, I had a unique perspective. I had two parents which each presented a different response. For most of my life, my dad was unsaved. So, trials were bad. They produced an angry temper and a firestorm. Now, my mom and my maternal grandmother were polar opposites. They were devout Christians and they saw trials as minor temporary inconveniences. They saw them simply as something to make them stronger and prove their faith. Now interestingly enough when my dad got saved at the age of 80, he too had this outlook when troubles came his way. It took him long enough, but he finally got there.
When we don’t have faith, we have fear. So, when you encounter a problem you are either showing those around you that you have great fear or you are showing them that you have great faith. So, you must ask yourself how will you live your life, in fear or in faith? I have tried both and I can assure you that living with faith creates a lot less stress. Living in faith makes life much easier. Trusting that God has control and is working all things out for your good (Romans 8:28) produces a lot less anxiety.
Draw near to God and trust in Him. Enter into a close relationship with Him and trust Him to have your back. When you do this and you face various trials, you see them for what they are. You see them as a small hurdle that you must go over. Know that you will fly over it with God’s help. Prove your faith to others and show them what it’s like to live trusting in God.
Have a great day!