Trials

THE DAILY WORD
By Jim Seekamp

Friday January 4, 2008

1 Peter 1:3-6 (NIV)
3. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4. and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-- kept in heaven for you, 5. who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
6. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.

Yes, despite our standing with God, and our glorious inheritance as saints, we still may have to suffer through trials! But these same trials result in our faith being proven genuine:

1 Peter 1:7-9 (NIV)
7. These have come so that your faith-- of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-- may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9. for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

No, these trials are not from God; the NIV makes it sound like they do by saying: "These have come SO THAT..." but the King James, in this case, gives a more accurate rendering of the original Greek:

1 Peter 1:7 (KJV)
That the trial of your faith...

Although the trials don't come from God, James tells us to "consider it pure joy" when we face these trials:

James 1:2-4 (NIV)
2. Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3. because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Our faith is not being tested by God; He already knows if our faith is genuine or not! We are tested by hard circumstances; some brought about by satan's influence and some just the result of people's decisions. Either way, they are tests of our faith, and the goal of our faith (as stated in 1 Peter 1:9) is the salvation of our souls! This is not talking about being saved from hell, it's talking about renewing our minds and transforming our entire souls (mind and emotions). James completes the thought:

James 1:21b (KJV)
and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

Sometimes when we undergo hardship and trials, we are forced to lean more heavily on God and focus more on Him; resulting in our own growth. But this same growth can come more quickly if we'll just renew our minds with His Word; receiving with meekness His engrafted Word, which is able to save our souls. Romans 12 also mentions this:

Romans 12:2a (NIV)
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

The way we are transformed is by the "renewing of our minds" or "salvation of our souls." They both refer to getting our minds full of God's Word so we know Him better, and can walk worry-free through any hardship or trial; to the point where the hardships and trials don't even seem so hard any more because we've learned to trust God and His Word completely!

PRAYER
Thank You Father for Your Word that tells me the spiritual truths that will bless my life as well as the lives of others. Help me to stay strongly motivated to renew my mind. Help me understand Your Word as I study and learn Your ways.
In Jesus' Name, Amen

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