By nature, we tend to recoil at the thought of a trial.
The very word evokes things like hardship,
suffering, difficulty, or burden.
Things my comfort-seeking American mindset dislikes.
Yet, as James reminds us, it’s not a matter of if the trials come but when they come. “My brethren, count it
all joy when you fall into various trials” (James 1:2).
The passage emphasized in Sunday's message was the
first chapter of Peter, and as our pastor reminded us, hardship is simply part
of the package of life here down on earth. We cannot and will not escape it. “For unto you
it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to
suffer for His sake” (Philippians 1:29-30).
How, then, do we view those trials? How much
are we willing to suffer? How are we going to respond to our Saviour? How are
we going to live out our Christianity amidst a trial? What mindset we will
adopt?
According to Peter, we are to “greatly rejoice” (I Peter
1:6). Yet, even as I read the words, my mind struggles to wrap itself around
the concepts of suffering and rejoicing at the same time.
How can we rejoice in trials?
Because of who Christ is and who we are in Him.
We can rejoice because we have a sovereign, loving,
all-powerful, merciful Heavenly Father who will not give us what we cannot
handle (I Corinthians 10:13). Everything that touches us must pass through His sieve. Furthermore, He has promised His grace to be sufficient for our every
weakness (II Corinthians 12:9).
We can rejoice because we have a living hope (I Peter 1:3).
We can rejoice in the blessings of our salvation. “I will
praise Thee, O Lord, my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify Thy name for
evermore. For great is Thy mercy toward me; and Thou hast delivered my soul
from the lowest hell” (Psalm 86:12-13).
We can rejoice because we are never alone, no matter how
dark and difficult the trial (Psalm 23:4, Hebrews 13:5).
We can rejoice because trials – indeed our very lives –
are fleeting and temporary (I Peter 1:6, II Corinthians 4:17-18).
We can rejoice because there is a purpose for every trial
that touches us, and Christ will be faithful to work all things together
for good.
Trials are a necessary part of life because they test and
refine our faith – “that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than
of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire” (I Peter 1:7).
Fire sounds strong, hot, and, well, fiery. It is, but the
Lord has promised that “when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be
burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee” (Isaiah 43:2).
The fire may be unpleasant, but when the purging of our
dross is through and the trying complete, we shall, in the words of Job, “come
forth as gold” (Job 23:10).
As our pastor stated, the Lord tests our faith because He
want us to be approved. The testing of our faith reveals where our faith is at.
The Lord tested the Israelites in the wilderness to see the condition of their
hearts. “And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee
these forty years in the wilderness, to
humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou
wouldest keep His commandments, or no” (Deuteronomy 8:2).
Testing shows us what or who our faith is in. It reveals
what our idols are, reminding us that whatever we put our faith in, outside of
Christ, will fail us.
Trials try our faith in order to help us grow more in the
grace and knowledge of Him. Our pastor used the analogy of tests. In academia
land, tests prove what we know and lucidly reveal what we do not know. They
show us where our weaknesses are, what concepts we have yet to grasp. It is the
same in the spiritual realm. Trials show us where we need to grow and help to
solidify our Christian character.
Lilias Trotter uses the beautiful analogy of sand lilies to illustrate the heat and dryness of
the fire, the growth that comes out of the fire, and how the Lord sustains us
during the process. She writes, “Today’s
find was beautiful to the inward vision as well as the outward. It was clusters
of exquisite wild lilies – white and fragile and fragrant – growing out of the
hot salt sand that drifts into dunes round the stunted juniper and lentisk
bushes that fringe the shore. Down below the surface, the storage of reserve
material in the lily bulbs had silently taken place…and there they had lain,
shrouded and waiting. The hour had come now, and no adverse condition could
keep back the upspringing. The same Lord over all can store the roots in His
spiritual creation, even though they have but smothering sand drifts around
them.” The Apostle Paul writes, “I pray that out of His glorious riches He may
strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being” (Ephesians
3:16), and we can be confident that He will strengthen us.
Our pastor concluded his message with four simple directions
for finding joy in the midst of trials from verses 8 and 9 of First Peter 1.
1. Love Christ.
2. Trust Christ.
3. Rejoice in Christ.
4. Receive from Christ.
Trials give us the opportunity to love Christ more,
pushing us closer to Him. He lovingly gives us the grace to trust Him more, and
because of who He is, we can rejoice exceedingly in Him.
Each trial is an opportunity, but the choice to accept it
is ours. The decision to receive the trial from Him is ours. And it is in
accepting it from Him that we find peace.
Today I was listening to Elisabeth Elliot’s talk entitled "Instruments of Peace." She describes the refining process as continual.
Sometimes there are hammer blows, other times there are chisel chippings, but
daily there is the rasping of the file – the little trials life
presents us every day. All are necessary for our growth.
As she states, “The
place where God has put you has unlimited possibilities….God has chosen the
place….Are you willing for the honing process? The honing of the instrument is
all part of God’s plan. He chooses the place, He furnishes the grace. God’s
loving care has placed you and me exactly where we can best receive the gift of
grace, which is the gift of Himself….It is here where God has put you, within
the context that He wants us to learn to know Him and to be instruments. If you
love Him, you will say ‘Yes, Lord.’ You will accept the conditions of your
life, and acceptance is the route to peace.” The size of the trial is not significant. The lessons
apply across the board – regardless of the size of the trial. We have to choose
to accept the hammer blows and the file rasps. Each contain a lesson for us and
a chance to draw closer to God. The key is our willingness to accept it.
Mrs. Elliot said she is often asked how she handled the
deaths of her first and second husbands. “I can’t handle it,” she replies. “I
accept it. I say, ‘Lord, I hand over my unmanageable feelings. I give them to
You, Lord,’ and accept [what He gives]. This is the place in which You want me
to glorify you and to be an instrument of peace.”
We have to remember that it is the Lord who has placed us in this particular stage or circumstance
in life. He is our Heavenly Father – the One who only wants the very best for
us. If we would only keep that in mind – to accept what He gives and simply
trust Him – then we will find peace (Isaiah 26:3).
“Instead of the
word ‘submission,’ I should write ‘acceptance,’
for more and more,
as life goes on, that word opens doors
into rooms of
infinite peace, and the heart that accepts asks nothing,
for it is at rest,
and the pilgrim of love does not need a map or chart.
‘I know my road,
it leadeth to His heart.’”
– Amy Carmichael