Dear friends, don’t be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you, as if something unusual were happening to you. Instead, rejoice as you share in the sufferings of the Messiah, so that you may also rejoice with great joy at the revelation of His glory. 1 Peter 4:12-13 HCSB
Tomorrow is one of my favorite songs from the play, Annie. The song begins with, “The sun will come out tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar there’ll be sun”. The lyrics go on to say, “Tomorrow! Tomorrow! I love you tomorrow! You’re always a day away!” It’s a song of hope. In the play it is sung by a group of orphan girls in a run down orphanage with caretakers that overwork and mistreat them. They long to be adopted into a loving family.
Our lives are often like the play. We all want to be loved. We all want things to work out well for us. But we know that this isn’t always the case. We know that we suffer hardships. We encounter those that don’t love us and sometimes don’t even seem to like us. Sometimes we have to go to school with these people or work with these people and sometimes they are our family members. We all find ourselves at times in situations that are definitely not what we had hoped for. But praise God, we do have hope. We do know that even when we face those gray, cloudy days, we can rest assured that the sun will come out.
Our scripture passages tells us not to be surprised when we go through trials and fiery ordeals. It tells us to rejoice in our suffering that we share with Jesus Christ so that we may also rejoice when his glory is revealed. Romans 8:28 tells us that all things work for the good of those that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:30 tells us that He justifies us and glorifies us. When Christians face trials, we can be assured of two things. Number one, it will all be worked out for our good. Number two, it will be worked out in a way that reveals His glory.
I don’t know about you, but in times where my fiery ordeals did not have good outcomes I have realized that this was because I never gave it over to God. Oh, I might have prayed to Him about it, but then I sat and wringed my hands and wondered what I could do. Then I jumped in and tried to fix it myself. All of these things are clear indicators that I never gave it over to God. I said that I did, but in reality I held on tightly to the problem.
If you are facing some difficult times in your life then know that complete surrender is necessary. Give it all over to Him. There is nothing better than the feeling of those thousands of pounds being lifted off of your shoulder. I love to pray to God and tell Him that I am lifting my problems up to Him. The hard part is to resist reaching up and grabbing on again. Surrender your will and your life to Him. We are told that our sin creates a barrier between us and God (Isaiah 59:2). If you have sin in your life, remove it. We are also told that the prayers of the righteous can accomplish anything (James 5:16). As my pastor always says, “Prayer can do anything God can do and God can do anything.”
When we love the Lord and are doing the work He has called us to do, we live in fellowship with Him. When we live in this fellowship with Him, we will be tested. But as long as we remain steadfast, we will be victorious. God’s glory will be revealed in our suffering. So know when you face fiery trials that God is right there with you. Know that He’s got this. Do the job He has called you to do, avoid the distractions the devil is sure to send your way and trust in Him.
When we walk with the Lord, we are not guaranteed that there won’t be bumps in the road. But, we are guaranteed that God will send His angels to hold us by the hand so that we will not stumble and fall (Psalm 91:11-12). Hold on to His righteous hand through the cloudy days and rest assured that the sun will come out tomorrow.
Have a great day!