"If someone asked you, 'How can I know if my faith is genuine?' how would you respond? What metrics would you suggest for self-evaluation? Perhaps the fruit of the Spirit, or the virtues commended in the Sermon on the Mount? There are many from which to choose."* These sentences began a devotional I was reading with my husband tonight and immediately these verses from 1 Peter came to mind.
I think we would all love to gauge how genuine our faith is by incredible steps of accomplishments and trust, not by persevering through trials. And did you notice? Not just "a trial", or a few, or several, but these verses tell us we must endure through "many trials"! Peter repeatedly emphasizes that we will experience a great number of troubles and adversities.
When we watch others walk through seasons of suffering with inexplainable joy and indescribable peace, genuine faith is evidenced. When they keep loving Jesus, believing in Him and holding on to hope, faithfully enduring, others see that Christ is real.
Trials are temporary, even if while in the middle of them they feel like they will never end. God has set a timeframe on each one, and although they often seem unending, in the light of eternity, they are fleeting. Because of this, Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, not to lose heart, "for this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison...The things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."
When difficulties arise, when questions go unanswered, when sleeplessness consumes our nights and tears mark our days, these are the times when our cry for help to the Lord testifies to genuine faith. Even if all we can voice is a desperate, "Lord, help me", the fact that we turn to God in trust when tested, this is genuine faith.
Charles Spurgeon wrote, "The one who would glorify his God must be prepared to meet with many trials. No one can be illustrious before the Lord unless his conflicts are many. If, then, yours is a much-tried path - that is, a path of many trials - rejoice in it, because you will be better able to display the all-sufficient grace of God. As for His failing you, never dream of it - hate the thought. The God who has been sufficient until now should be trusted to the end."**
We can endure by trusting in God's grace, and as we do, we will discover that we can rejoice, because our happiness is not dependent on circumstances, but in persevering in our faith and experiencing Christ's sufficiency.
Most likely written from prison, Peter concludes his first letter by saying, "My purpose in writing is to encourage you and assure you that what you are experiencing is truly part of God's grace for you. Stand firm in this grace." (1 Peter 5:12b) It is hard to understand when trials are described as "God's grace", but He uses them to refine our character, increase our dependence on Him and prove our faith genuine.
Remember, our faith is a sword (Ephesians 6:16) and it is meant for battle. "A faith that cannot be tested cannot be trusted."
*Quote: Truth For Life, Volume Two; Alistair Begg; December 10th reading; The Good Book Company; copyright 2022
**Spurgeon: Morning and Evening; Crossway Publishers; copyright 2003
No comments:
Post a Comment