"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honour and glory the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen you love."
1 Peter 1:6-8 NKJV
We can be sailing along peacefully with very few cares in the world when, suddenly a change comes along and the going begins to get tough. It happens to us all in certain degrees and at various times. Possibly for Christians, it can be harder because it is easy to believe that Jesus would never allow us to go through painful situations. Sadly, this is wrong. Things happen to us and we are left reeling and sometimes we are begging for a way through the situation.
God never tempts us, only the devil does this. However, God will allow trials to come upon us to test us and assess how we handle various things. He will monitor this testing however and never allow us to be overwhelmed by it all. Tony Evans comments on this:
'All trials are designed to do three things: Prove your faith, develop your faith and glorify your Saviour. You never know what you believe until you face a test. Our heavenly goldsmith wants to refine your character.' Tony Evans Study Bible
The gold refining process God uses can be a difficult road to walk on. It takes resilience and determination to make it through these testing times. But, our comfort is to realise that Jesus is right by our side as we go through this refining process which in technical terms can be described as:
'An exciting process called refining, it is re-liquified in a furnace and then heaped with generous amounts of soda ash and borax. This effectively separates the gold from impurities and other metal traces.' Source unknown
God uses tests or trials to develop us spiritually. A trial can be described as a divinely ordained difficulty that God uses to grow us, conforming us into the image of Jesus Christ. It is never easy but, it is manageable as we allow God to walk us through the process, which He is willing to do so. If you are in the middle of a trial at this time, keep standing, keep trusting and keep believing that God will pull you through it. Tests are only for a time but once through them, you have learned to be closer to God.
The thing is, don't give up believing that you can do this because, you can. When you place God in the driving seat, you find He is a skilful driver, but be careful, the devil will also want to drive and he is on the road to disaster. In your weakness at the time of the trial, don't allow the devil to get in. Just keep trusting in God.
Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.
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