"Look For Jesus In Your Trials"

"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had 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, many be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."

1 Peter 1:6-7

Previous verses explain that what we rejoice in is our salvation. These verses remind us that though our eternal reward is wonderful, this life brings any number of trials and a fair share of grief. The purpose of our earthly suffering is refinement. We need it. We must have our faith tested and tried, because that way we understand the deeper value of what we have. We go through the fire and we come out purer and truer and more genuine.

Our nature is corrupted and when we receive salvation the lifelong process of sanctification begins. We are not instantly made all holy and spiritual and mature in Christ. This life is a real rollercoaster of experiences and troubles, of successes and failures and of strength and weakness. Through it all, we learn to trust in Jesus. If we don't go through it, we can't get out the other side. Oh how we try to go around it. We lie, we plot, we cheat, we dicker, we try to bend the rules, we fake it, we put on quite a show. This is human nature. We are quite a spectacle really. So, what is our point today. How about some hope, since I have laid bare our frailties. OK, No problem. We do not perish from this testing. The purpose of our struggle is so we will praise and glorify and honor Him, when we see Him in everything.

Not easy to see the Lord when I have my sights set on myself; my pain, my disappointments, my opinions, my way, and my needs. When we look for Jesus and see how He is refining us, we find peace in the storms. We see how He is maturing us. We seem to want to be self-indulged until He shines the light on us and we see how we are. Then we cower and we retreat when Christ is revealed. For me, I know I need to be reminded that whatever day it is, whatever I am going through, whatever my issues or problems are, God is with me. The Lord never leaves me or forsakes me. He is for me. He has my best interest in mind. He can teach and lead me though anything. Whether it is happening to me or I have done it to myself. He is at work in every situation. Join me in looking for Jesus and keeping our eyes on Him.

With His Hope,
Pastor Fred

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