He that has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin 1Pet4:1b Peter tells us that the trial of our faith is more precious than gold that perishes. Our trials are one way in which we grow and mature. In this particular scripture above, our trials break the pattern of sin and instead of dwelling on our sin, we are forced to focus on our suffering. God sometimes allows the devil to bring trials and hardship and this is so for us to move further along on our spiritual journey. We only have to look at some of the great men of God to see this is so. Daniel is thrown into the lion’s den. Joseph is thrown into prison. David struggles with his children threw out his life because of adultery and murder. Job struggles with severe sickness and loss of family for many years until God restores him. The devil is a defeated foe, but the devil can infiltrate if we yield to sin or if, and this is not very well understood, God wishes to use him to try our faith to make us grow or to break the pattern of sin. We can be doing everything right and out of the blue, for no apparent reason, we may meet an unexpected challenge. It could be a financial challenge. It could be a health challenge. It could be a challenge to our faith. We may experience a physical ailment. We may experience an accident. We may lose a great deal of money. Any of which could cause us to waiver. These challenges are a trial and a test to our patience. Yet let patience do its perfect work that we may be made perfect and complete not lacking anything. God is after something more than we often ponder or imagine. God wants us to be conformed to the image of his Son and the Son learned obedience by the things which he suffered. Not only that, St. Paul tells us that if we share in the suffering of Christ, we will share in the resurrection. We are not to be surprised at the challenges we face in life. Through faith and the love of God we can meet the challenges and grow and mature and become strong able to lend a hand, guide, and support the body of Christ when they are faced with trials, fears, and doubt because we have tread a similar path, faced similar struggles, and learned how to overcome. God is after the finished product. By learning how to meet the struggles of life, not only do we become pleasing to God, we are useful to bring others through the trials of life and help them to mature and become complete. We are made righteous by faith in Christ and that faith is something that must grow, and one of the ways it does, is by going through the storms of life. We learn scripture, we receive the Holy Spirit, we live by faith, we pray, we sing hymns, we are charitable. All that is true, yet to become perfect, the tools we are given must be tried and tested for them to get us to the finish line. Run the race. Finish the course. Stand firm. If you do, you will have lived a life of faith, a life pleasing to God. Amen |