Tag Archives: trials

TAKE THE LONG LOOK

Bible Study, ,

TAKE THE LONG LOOK

In all this you greatly rejoice, though now, for a little while you may have to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of you faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls (1 Peter 1:6-9).

Peter could not be more positive than he was in these three sentences, as well as those that went before. If we place these truths side by side with Paul’s in Ephesians 1: 1-3, we have an amazing declaration of what these early believers had in Christ compared with what their pagan or Jewish beliefs had offered them.

Let’s unpack these sentences and explore what he was actually saying.

The first thing that stands out is that their present circumstances (and we know that Peter wrote to encourage them to keep on believing in spite of the ‘fiery ordeal’ – ch 4:12 – they were suffering), were transient and were nothing compared with what lay ahead for them if they kept their eyes on the big picture. Their suffering would not last forever; it was only a part of this life. It would come to an end when they entered into the presence of the one they loved.

Suffering for their faith in Jesus was inevitable but it had a purpose. Like gold refined in the fire until all the impurities were removed, their confidence in God had to be put to the test to remove the dross. Everyday, comfortable living would not do it. It had to be purified in the fires of adversity until nothing would move them from their trust in God. After all, faith was the invisible link between themselves and God. Without their trust in Him, they had no connection with Him and with everything that was theirs through Jesus.

Why do Christians suffer? The age-old question does have an answer – to put us into situations where we are forced to cast ourselves on God alone. It is a natural, inborn flaw is us to be suspicious of God. Adam was before he even sinned, and we are too because we inherited it from him.

How can we ever navigate a world full of trials and adversities of every kind if we do not trust God implicitly? How can we learn to trust Him if our faith is not put to the test? When the crunch comes, do we crumple up, scream and give up or do we keep going because we are secure in Him?

The next thing I see is that these believers were going somewhere. Life for them was not just a jumble of meaningless events and purposeless living. They were being groomed for something after this life which was indescribably wonderful beyond their imagination. Was this just a pipe-dream, the fantasy of someone’s fertile brain? Definitely not! Why could Peter be so confident about what he wrote? The hope of which he wrote was not just a futile wish but a declaration of fact because it was backed up by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

The whole point of Jesus’s coming, His living and dying and the miracle of His rising again was to accomplish something – not for Himself initially but for them – to rescue them from their plight and restore them to their rightful place in the family of God so that they could enjoy the glorious things God had prepared for them and for all who follow them through faith in Jesus.

Instead of being drowned in the misery of what they were suffering, Peter urged them to look ahead. The very things they were called to endure for the sake of their faith in Jesus were proof that they were on the right road. At the end of the tunnel there was the real life they had been promised – ‘the salvation of your souls’. Their broken and imperfect souls would be restored – made whole, unblemished and pure so that they could stand before God in the perfection of His beauty and enjoy Him forever.

Was it worth enduring the suffering? A thousand times, yes!

When you are faced with the uncomfortable experiences which are part of your lot as humans in an imperfect world, or the ridicule thrown at you because you will not take part in the debauchery of sin or even, as some are doing right now, losing their heads because they refuse to deny their faith in Jesus, there’s a glorious light at the end of the road.

Rejoice, because you’re on the right way and at the end of it your destination is heaven!

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Take The Long Look

Bible Study, , , ,

TAKE THE LONG LOOK

 

In all this you greatly rejoice, though now, for a little while you may have to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of you faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls (1 Peter 1:6-9).

Peter could not be more positive than he was in these three sentences, as well as those that went before. If we place these truths side by side with Paul’s in Ephesians 1: 1-3, we have an amazing declaration of what these early believers had in Christ compared with what their pagan or Jewish beliefs had offered them.

Let’s unpick these sentences and explore what he was actually saying.

The first thing that stands out is that their present circumstances (and we know that Peter wrote to encourage them to keep on believing in spite of the ‘fiery ordeal’ – ch 4: 12 – they were suffering), were transient and were nothing compared with what lay ahead for them if they kept their eyes on the big picture. Their suffering would not last forever; it was only a part of this life. It would come to an end when they entered into the presence of the one they loved.

Suffering for their faith in Jesus was inevitable but it had a purpose. Like gold refined in the fire until all the impurities were removed, their confidence in God had to be put to the test to remove the dross. Everyday, comfortable living would not do it. It had to be purified in the fires of adversity until nothing would move them from their trust in God. After all, faith was the invisible link between themselves and God. Without their trust in Him, they had no connection with Him and with everything that was theirs through Jesus.

Why do Christians suffer? The age-old question does have an answer – to put us into situations where we are forced to cast ourselves on God alone. It is a natural, inborn flaw is us to be suspicious of God. Adam was before he even sinned, and we are too because we inherited it from him.

How can we ever navigate a world full of trials and adversities of every kind if we do not trust God implicitly? How can we learn to trust Him if our faith is not put to the test? When the crunch comes, do we crumple up, scream and give up or do we keep going because we are secure in Him?

The next thing I see is that these believers were going somewhere. Life for them was not just a jumble of meaningless events and purposeless living. They were being groomed for something beyond this life which was indescribably wonderful beyond their imagination. Was this just a pipe-dream, the fantasy of someone’s fertile brain? Definitely not! Why could Peter be so confident about what he wrote? The hope of which he wrote was not just a futile wish but a declaration of fact because it was backed up by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

The whole point of Jesus’s coming, His living and dying and the miracle of His rising again was to accomplish something – not for Himself initially but for them – to rescue them from their plight and restore them to their rightful place in the family of God so that they could enjoy the glorious things God had prepared for them and for all who follow them through faith in Jesus.

Instead of being drowned in the misery of what they were suffering, Peter urged them to look ahead. The very things they were called to endure for the sake of their faith in Jesus were proof that they were on the right road. At the end of the tunnel there was the real life they had been promised – ‘the salvation of your souls’. Their broken and imperfect souls would be restored – made whole, unblemished and pure so that they could stand before God in the perfection of His beauty and enjoy Him forever.

Was it worth enduring the suffering? A thousand times, yes!

When you are faced with the uncomfortable experiences which are part of your lot as humans in an imperfect world, or the ridicule thrown at you because of your refusal to take part in the debauchery of sin or even, as some are doing right now, losing their heads because they refuse to deny their faith in Jesus, there’s a glorious light at the end of the road.

Rejoice, because you’re on the right road and at the end of it your destination is heaven!

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

Eye For An Eye

Bible Study, , , , ,

EYE FOR AN EYE

“The people in the crowd had listened attentively up to this point, but now they broke loose, shouting out, ‘Kill him! He’s an insect! Stomp on him!’ They shook their fists. They filled the air with curses. That’s when the captain intervened and ordered Paul taken into the barracks. By now the captain was thoroughly exasperated. He decided to interrogate Paul under torture in order to get to the bottom of this, to find out what he had done that provoked this outraged violence. As they spread-eagled him with thongs, getting him ready for the whip, Paul said to the centurion standing there, ‘Is this legal: torturing a Roman citizen without a fair trial?'” Acts 22:22-25 (The Message).

What set the crowd off again? They had been listening to Paul’s story without any reaction up to this point, but at the mention of “Gentiles” they went crazy, demanding his annihilation as though he were a bug. This puzzled the Roman captain. What was it with these people? Why this pathological hatred of Paul?

He thought that there was something more sinister to this man, Paul, that he was not letting on about; he would wring it out of him under torture. Flogging him would do the trick, so he thought.

Paul was not looking forward to yet another beating, Roman style. He had one card up his sleeve to put a stop to it which he quickly pulled out while he had the chance — Roman citizenship. He did not whine to God about this unfair treatment. He used the system of the world he was in to protect himself from unnecessary suffering. There was enough of that ahead for him over which he had no power.

What should our response be to the injustices we, as believers, have to suffer at the hands of religious bigots? Jesus had an answer that befits citizens of the kingdom of God whose task it is to bring heaven down to earth.

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:11-12 (NIV).

Strange as it may seem, Jesus maintained that persecution was a reason to rejoice, firstly because there is a great reward for those who are unashamedly loyal to Him and follow Him with no qualms; and secondly, because you are in good company since their own prophets received the same treatment as you are receiving.

James also wrote about the benefits of various trials and tests. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James1:2-4 (NIV).

Peter had this to say about the trials the believers were undergoing in his day: “In this (all the benefits of salvation) you greatly rejoice, though now, for a little while you may have to suffer grief in all kinds of trials, These have come so that your faith — of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire — may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.” 1 Peter 1:7 (NIV).

Paul also recognised the benefits of suffering: “Therefore we do not lost heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NIV).

What is God’s take in this? Will those who inflict pain on His people simply because they belong to Jesus and bear witness to His grace, never receive the justice they deserve for the injustice they have done against other human beings?

“You’re suffering now, but justice is on the way. When the Master Jesus appears out of heaven in a blaze of fire with His strong angels, He’ll even up the score by settling accounts with those who gave you such a bad time. His coming will be the break we are waiting for. Those who refuse to know God and refuse to obey the Message will pay for what they’ve done.” 2 Thessalonians 2:6-8 (The Message).

Your Jerusalem

Christian Life, , ,

YOUR JERUSALEM

“But there is another urgency before me now. I feel compelled to go to Jerusalem. I’m completely in the dark about what will happen when I get there. I do know that it won’t be any picnic, for the Holy Spirit has let me know repeatedly and clearly that there are hard times and imprisonment ahead. But that matters little. What matters most to me is to finish what God started: the job the Master Jesus gave me of letting everyone I meet know all about the extravagant generosity of God.” Acts 20:23-24 (The Message).

So Paul did know what was up ahead for him!

Like any other human being in a similar situation, Paul had one of two options — run from the trouble ahead or embrace it like Jesus did.

Why did God tell Paul beforehand what was going to happen? I think it was to enable him to set a steady course because he was sure of God’s will. Was he fazed by the revelation? Not at all! Long years of walking with Him had strengthened Paul’s confidence in God. He had suffered more hardship than many another person, but he had learned through experience that “those who put their trust in Him will never be disappointed.”

Like Jesus, Paul set his face like a flint to go to Jerusalem because Jerusalem was in the mix for him. He could deal with whatever was to happen in Jerusalem because God was already there, preparing the way for him.

We all have our own “Jerusalem”, the place of trouble and testing and we are very often not aware of what is happening and caught off guard. Most of the time our first reaction is to blame the devil, or someone else, or ask the question, “Why me, God? What have I done to deserve this?”

Our outrage stems from the belief that we don’t deserve this kind of treatment — the “Job” response. With that kind of attitude, God will remain as silent with us as He did with Job. The quickest way to get an answer is not to ask “Why?” but “What?” God is sovereign. He is not obliged to respond to our whining but He gladly answers an honest question, “What’s this all about so that I can co-operate with your plan?”

Our answer comes from Peter who had his own “Jerusalem” to contend with and came out a humbler and wiser man. This was his conclusion: “In this you greatly rejoice (all the benefits of God’s salvation), though now for a little while you may have to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith — of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire — may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.” 1 Peter 1:6-7 (NIV).

God is passionate about the quality of our confidence in Him. It’s all we have to link us to the resources of grace He provides for us to live this life. He has to do something to alert us to the “what ifs” and “if onlys” we hold onto that dilute our trust and make us wobbly and insecure. What better way to expose our insecurities than to orchestrate circumstances that show up what we are actually thinking and believing?

Instead of blaming God or life for giving us a bad deal, let’s use these times to ditch our suspicions and mistrust of God by owning our faulty thinking and changing our minds about God and His ways. Isn’t it true that, up to this point in our lives, many of us have wasted our trials by going the same route over and over again? We get upset and ask “Why?” In true “Dr Phil” style, how has that worked for you?

The height of folly is to do the same thing again and again and expect a different outcome! I know a way that works — admit to God that you mistrust Him and ask Him to reveal His ways. You’ll be surprised at the relief you will feel and the newfound confidence you will have in Him when you realise that He is at work in your circumstances to change you from the inside through what is happening on the outside!