Your 24/7 Companion – Day 14
He in You ... Difficulties reward
Um(Imi)bhalo weBhayibheli
1 kaPetru 1
1 Peter 1:6-7: this scripture does not deal with difficulties in general but with trials, because people love the Lord and are being ridiculed and persecuted for their faith.
To rejoice during trials is almost impossible, especially when it concerns our faith. However, it is possible if we focus on what is important. To Peter, the author of this letter, it is all about focusing on the promises God made to us. He gave us a new life and without any doubt, we can look forward to “an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and does not fade away, reserved in heaven for us.” Furthermore, we have the promise of us being “kept by the power of God through faith” (1 Peter 1:4-5). How powerful and comforting! God took us into his protection; therefore, it is possible for us to stay faithful to him despite trials, injustices or even death.
The writer focuses on this truth when he writes the letter: “… though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials that the genuineness of your faith be tested.” (1 Peter 1:6-7)
Why is it necessary for our faith to be tested? He values you and me; after all, he did give his Son as proof of this! Trials and rough times are necessary for our purification process, because if our faith proofs to be impure when tested, how can our lives be pure? It is necessary, then, for our faith to be tested to determine its purity. In the same way that the heat of fire reveals the impurities in gold and burns it away, so do trials reveal our faith. Do we believe because of the good things God provides for us, because of the prosperity we enjoy, because we are afraid we will miss out on everlasting life or because he is God, our Creator whom we love with all our hearts?
What is the outcome if our faith withstands the test? It will be to the “honour, praise, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:7)
Even though it seems impossible, it is possible to have joy during trials, because we are kept by God to inherit the everlasting life that awaits us. It is merely our faith that has to be aligned.
