Beloved,
do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for
your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree
that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the
revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.
1 Peter 4:12-13 New American Standard
Bible (NASB)
The Greek word for “ordeal”
literally means burning or refining. The word for testing means trials,
temptations, difficulties, etc. As gold is refined through fire and crucibles,
so we are refined through the suffering we experience. Whether it is some
hardship like job loss or illness, or the test of temptation which will grow us
if we resist, we should not be surprised that we are experiencing it. Jesus
suffered every trial and temptation that we experience in some way. When we share
in His sufferings (meaning when we suffer for His sake, either being persecuted
for our faith, or enduring hardship in a godly way and resisting temptation),
the Bible says we are blessed. We are counted worthy to suffer for Him and as
He did. At the end of time, we will be rewarded for our endurance and
perseverance when our faith is proven, we will have reason to rejoice in our
suffering because of the growth it caused in us and because it was an
opportunity to glorify God. The trick to growth and glory is that in our
suffering we have to submit to God and surrender our lives to Him. Instead of
feeling sorry for ourselves, we have to accept it as part of God’s will and
trust His plan that it will work out for our good and His glory. It is
important that we have a good attitude about it. That does not mean that we are
always happy and pretend like it’s ok, but we should not complain, whine, or
stay in the pond of self pity. That is the whole point of the “ordeal”, in
order for refining to have its perfect work, we have to submit to its work and
have a godly attitude. So how are you being refined? What testing are you
facing? How can you have a godly attitude in what you are dealing with?
To receive these devotions daily, like my page or
subscribe to my blog by entering your email in the subscription box to the
right!
Translations of Greek and Hebrew words taken from
blueletterbible.org
No comments:
Post a Comment