These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
1 Peter 1:7 NIV
The Wednesday night men’s class had a beautiful discussion this week about 1 Peter 1, and I was very encouraged by it. This verse especially struck me as beautiful and encouraging.
In this verse it says these (referring to difficult trials) have come so that your faith, being tested, will be found to be genuine (tried and found to be true). And being found as such, it will result in eternal blessings on the day of Jesus. On that day, our proven faith will lead to praise, glory and honor when we hear the Lord say to us, “well done”. Those words of praise, glory, and honor will speak of our faith that endured and persevered through trial. What a beautiful, life-giving hope when we find ourselves facing a difficult season of life!
I was also encouraged to contemplate the fact that trials prove the genuineness of our faith. When we persevere in faith through a difficult trial, we can rejoice in the reality of the faith that exists in our hearts. In other words, persevering through trials contributes to our confidence that our faith and relationship with the Lord are “the real deal.”
This has been a huge thing in my life, and I have found these words to be true. For much of my life I wondered what I would do when “the going got tough.” Would I remain true to the Lord or not? But after weathering the first season of my brain tumor over 8 years ago, I found great comfort in being able to say to myself that my faith indeed was real. Remaining true to Him as I faced the uncertainty surrounding my tumor put to rest any remaining questions in my heart about my sincerity or genuineness.
I say all of this to simply encourage you to not despair when hard times come. Rather, look to the Lord and joyfully anticipate the beauty and the pleasure of being able to say after the trial that your faith is real. Then, for the joy set before you, endure.
– Deryk Pritchard, Preacher