Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you. But rejoice, inasmuch as you are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding joy.
1 Peter 4:12-13
Thoughts on Today’s Verse…
These verses show us Peter’s attitude toward trials and are Peter’s exhortations for us. Peter spent his life seeking to love and satisfy God, and always hoped to have a purer love of God. Whether we have true faith and love for God is only revealed when we undergo trials, and only trials can purify our faith and love for God. So, Peter accepted God’s trials with joy. However, when we face trials, we often feel worried and even misunderstand God for not protecting us. This is because we don’t understand the significance of God’s trials. We should emulate Peter, willingly accepting God’s trials rather than misunderstanding Him in trials. Thus, we can have a purer love of God like Peter. Only after understanding God’s will can we calmly face trials and obey God’s sovereignty and arrangements.
Just as God says, “In the midst of trials, even when you don’t know what God wants to do and what work He wants to accomplish, you should know that God’s intentions for mankind are always good. If you pursue Him with a true heart, He will never leave you, and in the end He will surely perfect you, and bring people to an appropriate destination.”
Relevant Words of God
In your experience, no matter what refinement you undergo through God’s words, what God requires of mankind, in brief, is their faith and their love for Him. What He perfects by working in this way is people’s faith, love, and aspirations. God does the work of perfection on people, and they cannot see it, cannot feel it; under such circumstances, your faith is required. People’s faith is required when something cannot be seen by the naked eye, and your faith is required when you cannot let go of your own notions. When you do not have clarity about God’s work, what is required of you is to have faith and to take a firm stance and stand witness. When Job reached this point, God appeared to him and spoke to him. That is, it is only from within your faith that you will be able to see God, and when you have faith God will perfect you. Without faith, He cannot do this. God will bestow upon you whatever you hope to gain. If you do not have faith, then you cannot be perfected and you will be unable to see God’s actions, much less His omnipotence. When you have faith that you will see His actions in your practical experience, then God will appear to you, and He will enlighten and guide you from within. Without that faith, God will be unable to do that. If you have lost hope in God, how will you be able to experience His work? Therefore, only when you have faith and you do not harbor doubts toward God, only when you have true faith in Him no matter what He does, will He enlighten and illuminate you through your experiences, and only then will you be able to see His actions. These things are all achieved through faith. Faith comes only through refinement, and in the absence of refinement, faith cannot develop. What does this word, “faith,” refer to? Faith is the genuine belief and the sincere heart that humans should possess when they cannot see or touch something, when God’s work does not align with human notions, when it is beyond human reach. This is the faith that I speak of. People are in need of faith during times of hardship and refinement, and indeed, faith is something that is followed by refinement; refinement and faith cannot be separated. No matter how God works, and no matter your environment, you are able to pursue life and seek the truth, and seek knowledge of God’s work, and have an understanding of His actions, and you are able to act according to the truth. Doing so is what it is to have true faith, and doing so shows that you have not lost faith in God. You can only have true faith in God if you are able to persist in pursuing the truth through refinement, if you are able to truly love God and do not develop doubts about Him, if no matter what He does you still practice the truth to satisfy Him, and if you are able to seek in the depths for His will and be considerate of His will.
Excerpted from “Those Who Are to Be Made Perfect Must Undergo Refinement”
From: Grow in Christ
»More Bible Verse of the Day
These Bible verses about faith will tell you the importance of faith, the reason for losing faith, and how to restore the lost faith, and show you the way to increase your faith.
