Salvation's Present Trials

Last Wednesday night, Tim Senn taught a lesson on having joy through trials and suffering from 1 Peter.

1 Peter 1:6-9 - In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith - more precious than gold that perishes though tested by fire - may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Tim gave three reasons for joy despite suffering. Today I would like to look at one:

1. We Have Joy Because Our Sufferings Have a Purpose

Under this point he had four sub points:

a. Suffering is necessary
b. Suffering is limited
c. Suffering is assorted
d. Suffering produces a faith that receives rewards

Peter gives a great illustration for the necessity of trials in verse 7. "...so that the tested genuineness of your faith - more precious than gold that perishes though tested by fire - may be found..."

When gold is found it is filled with dirt and rocks. In order to purify this gold the rocks and dirt have to be removed. The only way to do this is to first burn the gold down to liquid form then remove the impurities. The same is true for our faith; we have to be burned to remove the sins in our lives.

Tim added this illustration which ties to the fourth sub point. Faith in trials is like muscle building. When someone works out, they are breaking their muscles down. When the muscles are breaking down the body tells itself what is happening and tries to fix the problem by building more muscle cells in the area that is broken.

The same is true for our faith. In order for our faith to get stronger it has to be tested. Under great weight is where are faith is truly shown. And when we are tested God says He will give us "praise and glory and honor."

The third point, Suffering is assorted, simply means that trials vary. You won't always be faced with the same trial. Trials will be different; suffering comes in different ways.

The second is one that provides much hope and joy. While we will have trials here on earth, because of Christ's sacrifice, will will be reunited with him in a place where there are no trials nor suffering. It will not last forever. And when it ends we will be blessed.

Yesterday, on my way to Comp 1 class, I blew a tire. I spent an hour changing the tire, which made me miss class. When I was finished, I jumped back in the car to find that the car was dead due to my hazard lights. I know that this is a very minuscule trial, but through it I kept thinking about the lesson the night before.

God really wanted me to think more about how to respond in trials. It was really cool for me because I got to hear it preached one day and then experience it then next (a very small experience, but enough to get me thinking). I was thinking about how a non-believer might respond to the situation. Would they get mad? Upset that the tire was ruined or that they missed their class? How should I respond as a believer in Christ?

It is a wonderful thing to lean on the joy of Christ. Trials are not easy, but when you experience the joy through those trials, that is a joy that only Christ can bring. We will look at the other reasons to have joy in suffering in weeks to come, but this week just look at your life. How do you respond when something bad happens? What is your response when you get hurt in some way? Have you ever experienced the true joy in suffering?

If you are going through a trial right now, ask God for that joy. It does not just come to you. We have to fight for it. Fight to hand your trials to God. When you do, Christ will become your ultimate joy in suffering.