Trials That Prove Our Faith

We live in a country that largely preaches a gospel of wealth and ease. But God never promised a rose petal strewn path.

Yes, there will be joy in the journey but there will be seasons when it's dark and troubling. At times we will experience pain, sorrow and grief that we may not fully understand until we see Jesus face to face. True, some of the pain we caused through is a result of our own foolishness. And suffering may come at the hands of those we love or those who hate the gospel of Christ.

As I write this there are suffering saints all over the world in secret places. They are far from the media's eye while standing on trial for their faith. Even now, some are saying His name for the last time.

By no means is this to minimize the difficulty some face in hostile workplaces where you suffer persecution because you stand for Christ. Nor is it to say the suffering some family members inflict isn't real because you chose to live a godly life. There are some Christian young people in school that suffer terrible ridicule because they refuse to join their peers in doing ungodly activities.

Peter encourages the persecuted church by writing, "In all 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 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." (I Peter 1:6-7 NIV).

And it doesn't have to be persecution that makes a trial - it can be our health, our marriage or even our times of devotion of Christ - anything can be a trial. The original Greek word denotes a trial can also mean temptation. In what ever form it takes God's desired end is that our faith is proven - tried and tested - to produce great, lasting value than that of gold.

Every trial and testing that increases our faith, increases our trust in a Mighty God who is sovereign. He is in control. And may we be comforted that He is after all, the Judge of all the earth (Genesis 18:25, Psalms 94:1-2) so righteousness will prevail.