The Trial of Your Faith (Part 1 of 2)

"Afflictions find out our weak points, and this makes us attend to them.  Being tried, we discover our failures and then going to God about those failures we are helped to be perfect and entire, wanting nothing" (Spurgeon).

March 30, 2021

"Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:  Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:  Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls."

1 Peter 1:6-9

Part 1

Today:  The Fact of Tempting Trials

(1 Peter 1:6) “Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations.”

 

“Wherein ye greatly rejoice.”
As we read through Peter’s books, we will learn that we are living in difficult times.  What is it that we believers have to rejoice about, even when life is hard?  Peter shows us in chapter 1.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,  To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,  Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:3-5).

Because of Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead, we have a living hope.  Through His mercy, He has saved us (we are born again).

“But God, being full of mercy, through the great love which he had for us, Even when we were dead through our sins, gave us life together with Christ by grace you have salvation” (Ephesians 2:4-5).

He has reserved in heaven for His children an inheritance.  It is not perishable, it cannot be defiled, and it will never fade away.  This is glorious and the opposite of anything we might have here on earth!

Believers, we are being guarded by God’s power.  That is, we are being protected by His “power, through faith, unto salvation.”  This wonderful salvation will finally be unveiled in the last time.

With this eternal blessing of salvation God has freely given us, how can we complain about our temporal problems?  Are they:  Difficult? Yes!  Troubling? Yes!  Distressing? Yes!  Painful? Yes!  But are they NEEDED?… if we are honest, we must reply, “yes, they are.”  And thankfully, Jesus has promised to be with us always (Hebrews 13:5).  And our trials are,

 

“Though now for a season.”
For a “little while,” we will face trials on this earth.  These sufferings are not abnormal but the norm in the believers’ life.

“But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a [little] while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you” (1 Peter 5:10).

We ought to thank the Lord for our suffering here, for when we handle it well through the Spirit’s power, we are slowly changing.

 

“If need be.”
Peter is politely saying that God uses trials in our lives to correct our many character flaws.  And yes, “this needs to be.”

“We would not say to such a person [going through trials], ‘you certainly needed this affliction to lead you to amend your life;’ but, ‘it may be that there is something in your character which makes it desirable, or that God intends that some good results shall come from it which will show that it is wisely ordered’”[2] (Barnes).

Only our God knows what we need to shape our being into the likeness of His Son (Romans 8:28-29).  He lovingly brings us the trials that we need.  When we understand this, it helps us make sense of all the times that,

 

“Ye are in heaviness.”
You are now living in the “sphere or environment” where you “having been grieved,” “ye have been put to grief,” because this is the realm where “grief operates”[3] (Vincent).

This life can be painful, both physically and emotionally.  This grief comes to us,

 

“Through manifold temptations.”
These are numerous and various temptations.  They are usually unexpected and may even blindside the receiver.  James understood the same truth when he said,

“My brethren count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations” (James 1:2).

Believers, brothers, and sisters in Christ, we must trust our sovereign Lord as He leads us through hardships.  He brings these to us, that we might continue to “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).

Unfortunately, many have been raised to believe that anything complicated in life is to be avoided at all costs.  It is not that we seek out a hard life, but we learn to rejoice in the trials that we face when they come to us.

Please join us tomorrow when we will see that every one of these trials is precious in God’s sight.

 

Quote:  “This is the day which the LORD hath made” (Psalm 118:24a).  Our Creator has made today for us His children.  With all of the potential joys and trials, temptations, and blessings that may come through the day, this day is from Him, made for us.  So then, “we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24b).  He makes no mistakes, and we may freely rejoice in what He gives us today!

 

 

[1] Today’s Thought for this blog is Spurgeon’s quote and is from the Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Volume 29. Downloaded: Monday, March 29, 2021. From: https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/sermons/all-joy-in-all-trials/#flipbook/.
[2] Albert Barnes, Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword.  1 Peter 1:6.
[3] M.R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament, the electronic version in eSword.