1Peter 1:6 – 9 “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in various trials so that the proven character of your faith—more precious than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy, now that you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
It has been said that “Character is what you are when nobody is looking.” Most of us can look good for a little while and we may make a great impression as long as we are not under pressure. But bring a little stress and we don’t look nearly so outstanding. In Peter’s day, it was common to go to the market and see a goldsmith working gold. Raw gold contains lots of impurities, and these impurities can only be eliminated by heating the gold to the melting point and skimming off the impurities. The same thing is true with silver. And even after gold or silver have been refined, they can still be destroyed if the fire is hot enough.
Several years ago, my husband’s grandmother gave us some pure silver forks that had been passed down in her family. We left those forks with our daughter while we went overseas. Unfortunately, our daughter’s house was completely destroyed by fire, and the silver was never found. That raging fire had totally consumed the silver.
Faith that remains untested is not faith but merely wishful thinking. Unless our faith has been tried, nobody really knows if we are merely mouthing platitudes or if we are willing to act on what we say.
There are all kinds of trials of faith. We have one friend who has been in ICU for three weeks. Not only has our friend’s faith been tried, but his entire family has been forced to endure tremendous stress. But our friend continues to pray and to praise God, as do his other family members.
What good is faith? Why should we believe? If there were no reward for faith, it would be worthless; however, faith in Christ Jesus has a definite goal: eternal salvation. None of us can earn our way into heaven. Each of us has sinned and has fallen short of the glory of God. But if we will pray to God, confessing that we are sinners and ask God to save us, He will. We then must trust that the blood sacrifice Jesus completed on Calvary has the power to save us from our sins. Faith in the redeeming power of that sacrifice gives us the energy and the hope to continue to trust God and to praise Him and worship Him, even in the darkest of times. When we trust in God, He will give us the grace and the courage and the strength to withstand the pressures that assail us.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I confess that I am a sinner and that nothing I do will help me earn my way into heaven. Please forgive my sin. I thank you that you died for me and that because you have defeated death, you have the power to grant eternal life when I believe in you. Help me to trust you completely and to follow hard after you all the days of my life. Amen.
Burunche's Blog 
Leave a comment