All Christians face trials for following Jesus. These can range from being disregarded or ignored, all the way to physical persecution and even death. In the face of these trials, Christians can feel targeted or that their trials are unfair. However, Peter assures us that all the trials we face for Jesus have a purpose.
In 1 Peter 1:6-7, he wrote: “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 it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
Note the words “if necessary.” Those words beg the question of what is necessary and who decides that it is necessary? Do we get to pick and choose our own trials, or would we probably choose to avoid them altogether? Should we trust ourselves to choose wisely? If we chose for ourselves, we might pick only trials we’ve already overcome or ones we are sure we can handle, but as Warren Wiersbe wrote: “We must not think that because we have overcome one kind of trial that we will automatically ‘win them all.’ Trials are varied, and God matches the trial to our strengths and needs.”[1]
Fortunately for all of us, God is the one who decides if, when, and why trials are “necessary.” He decides whether we have trials, and only He knows all of the flaws in our faith and the best way for us to overcome them and grow in faith. He ensures we face only “necessary” trials that test the “genuineness” of our faith and turn it into something “more precious than gold.” These trials expose our impurities so that they may be removed. Because of the words “if necessary,” we can rejoice in our salvation even when going through trials of all kinds. They aren’t random or meaningless.
Therefore, we can rejoice even in our trials knowing they will “result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Any time we feel “grieved by various trials” we know they are temporary, and they serve God’s purpose for us.
Amen.
[1] Wiersbe, Warren. Be Hopeful (1 Peter) (1982). P. 35.
Joshua, Moses’ hand-picked successor, was very aware of the consequences of failing to trust God. After being delivered from Egypt, Israel was led to Canaan – their promised land – and God had Moses “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel.”[1] The purpose of the spy mission was not to decide whether or not to move into the land. God promised to give it to them. However, when the 12 spies returned, 10 of them said “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.”[2] Only Joshua and Caleb said they should take the land anyway, because God’s promise and strength was enough for them. Because the people rebelled, trusting 10 disloyal spies rather than Him, God said Israel must wander the wilderness for years and only Joshua and Caleb would live long enough to enter the land.
After taking 40 years to make what could have been an 11-day journey[3] to the Jordan River where Israel would enter the land, God knew, and Joshua knew, that divided loyalties could doom everyone to another 40-year wilderness adventure.
Arriving at the flooded Jordan River, some people may have doubted whether Joshua get them across. Joshua had just become their leader, and perhaps the failure of Moses, who recently died, meant the failure of their dreams of the promised land. After all, they saw the Red Sea part for Moses. Could Joshua get them over this river?
Then in Joshua 3:15 we find this note: “(now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest)”. Why is this phrase important? Israel arrived at the Jordan at the most difficult time to cross. The river would be as deep and as wide as ever, and likely the current would be stronger as well. A sensible person would avoid crossing at this time, but God chose the most “difficult” time to perform this miracle to show that nothing is difficult for Him. This phrase is there because entering the promised land should glorify God and God alone.
By coming to the Jordan specifically when it “overflows all its banks” God wanted to remind His people that only He can and will deliver them. The Red Sea wasn’t parted because of Moses; it was parted because of God. God could deliver Israel without Moses, but Moses couldn’t deliver Israel without God. It was never about Moses. Likewise, Joshua wasn’t going to get them to their land; God was. The flood gave the people no reason to credit Joshua for their success.
As instructed, this is how they crossed the flooded river: “as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest), the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho. Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.” – Joshua 3:15-17
Joshua was very clear about giving God credit, and it’s a lesson for Christians in all times and places. When God raises up leaders, He also reminds us that they are but men and tools in His hand. They are also profoundly fallible. 10 out of 12 human leaders being wrong left Israel wandering for 40 years. Only God leads anyone to salvation and only when they trust Him alone for it. He often works through fallen human leaders, raising them up to lead His people, not because He prefers sinful leaders over virtuous ones, but because there is no other kind of person and because He is jealous for His own glory.
Is there a flooded river God wants you to cross? When we attempt things that only make sense because God told us to do them, we may be more likely to do or witness something that glorifies God and God alone, because only He could do it.
Are there rivers you have crossed in the past? Like God told Joshua after this crossing to lay memorial stones so they would never forget (see Joshua 4), make sure to keep a record of God’s power and faithfulness in your life.
Sometimes life is hard on purpose. Sometimes the river is flooded because God wants to show you something awesome.
Therefore, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9b
Many are familiar with the Biblical triad of faith, hope and love from 1 Corinthians 13:13, which says: “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” In this verse, Paul is calling these 3 characteristics the most important, with love above the other 2.
In another of Paul’s letters he joins this triad with another one. 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 says, “We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” He’s saying that faith and works go together, that love and labor go together and that hope and steadfastness go together. But how do they fit together and do the 3 relationships have anything in common?
When I think of these verses, I see faith, hope and love as the causes of the other 3 characteristics. Faith motivates works. Love motivates labor. Hope motivates steadfastness. Without the first thing in each pair, it’s hard to consistently have the second thing. Let’s look at them in order.
The interaction between faith and work is a tricky one, but paraphrasing John Calvin, we are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone. In the New Testament book of James, he wrote “someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”[1] Our Savior spent His life on this earth ministering to others, and if we believe in Him as who He actually is (our God), our faith in Him will naturally result in us ministering to others as He did. Thus, faith motivates us to work as Jesus worked. Otherwise, it is a dead faith.
Paul also noted the Thessalonians’ “labor of love.” The “love” here is more than an emotion or feeling. It’s the love (agape in Greek) that is a self-sacrificing concern for others. Any others. G.K. Chesterton said, “the Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because they are generally the same people.” True love is hard, like labor. Strong’s Greek dictionary describes the word translated “labor” as toil that wears us out or even causes us pain. A labor of love is when we serve people so much in love that it wears us out. Agape love motivates us to labor for others.
The last pair is the “steadfastness of hope.” In my experience, hope is only useful when it is steadfast. If we lose hope when things go wrong, we lose the ability to see beyond our current circumstances to our future in Christ. Its only when we are able to keep our focus on Christ even in tough times that our hope is steadfast and shows its true value. In the 2 letters he wrote to the Thessalonians, Paul referred to the second coming of Jesus at least 6 times, which would remind them that their hope is sure and won’t fail them. Just like the Thessalonians, we need to be reminded again and again of where our hope lies in order to keep living for God. Hope motivates steadfastness.
Today, if Paul were to write a letter to your church, would he note their “work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ”? I pray that for my church, including me, he could. Pray the same for you and yours.
“We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Sometimes we fall into a pattern of trying to rely on our own merit to please God. We try our hardest to do everything we think He wants us to do in order to earn His love. We live like the classic hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness” was changed to “Great is My Faithfulness.” We put our hope in our own efforts to earn our salvation.
Hebrews 10:23, which says “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful” helps explain why we’d much rather have it be “Great is Thy Faithfulness.” This verse reminds us that He is faithful and is worth putting our hope in. In contrast we are often unfaithful and disappoint ourselves, falling short of the ideals we strive to achieve. We can hold fast to our hope, because it’s based on His promises.
Earlier, Hebrews 6:19 says “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain” where “this” refers to the promises of God that were fulfilled by the life of Jesus and give us access to God’s presence. Counting on our own faithfulness is like being on a ship that attaches its anchor to itself, and the captain wonders why the ship keeps drifting uncontrollably. So, as the verse says, we must attach our anchor to something else (God’s promises), because an anchor is only as good as what it’s attached to. Something solid is needed, and God’s promises in Jesus are a solid, unchanging thing we can cling to at all times.
If we relied on our own faithfulness for salvation, every time we disappoint God, we would have to worry about losing our salvation, our place in God’s family. We would have no security, no way to avoid “wavering.” Our faithlessness discourages us, but His faithfulness gives us hope and strength.
God is faithful and worthy of our trust. As the hymn declares about Him:
“There is no shadow of turning with Thee; Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not; As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.”
We can “hold fast” to Him in all times and in all circumstances. All of the Old Testament testifies to God’s faithfulness toward His people, and the New Testament testifies to the fulfillment of God’s promises in the life and work of Jesus. Therefore, His faithfulness is backed up by centuries of history, and through His grace, He offers salvation to His people. As Ephesians 2:8 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God”. Even our faith is a gift from God, based on His faithfulness, not ours, and given in His grace. When our faith wavers, His does not.
Therefore, thank God that our hope is in His faithfulness, not in ours. Our faithfulness is far too uncertain, but through the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus we inherit Christ’s own merit in the eyes of God and couldn’t please Him anymore no matter what we do.
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful”
Years ago, I saw a drawing of a child suspended in the air, clutching the string of a single balloon, with the caption: “Faith isn’t faith until it’s all you’re holding on to.” It was a very simple picture, but it made me think: Where does this kind of faith come from? A faith that turns intellectual trust into action, especially potentially dangerous action?
One way is that we can learn it from others. I’ve read a lot of Christian apologetics – or writings in defense of Christian faith. Writers such as Josh McDowell and Ravi Zacharias were held in reverent awe by many in my college years, the logic being that “if someone that smart can be a Christian, it must be reasonable to believe!” While there is definitely value in learning from others, there is also the hazard of learning to trust our teachers (instead of our Teacher). Then when they fall, it hurts us personally and can damage our witness. We know what ended up happening to Ravi Zacharias[1].
There is also the testimony of the Bible. In the book of Hebrews, chapter 11 chronicles the faith of many in the Bible, and Hebrews 12:1 calls these our “cloud of witnesses.” We can learn a lot from these people, but they don’t just teach us facts about God. The writer of Hebrews adds that because of these witnesses, we should “lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”[2] He is our Lord, and these witnesses tell us to follow Him, not just be able to describe Him.
One of the best lessons on this comes from G.K. Chesterton, who is well-known for his arguments in defense of the reasonableness of Christianity. However, near the end of his book Orthodoxy, he says that he has a better idea: “And that is this: ‘that the Christian Church in its practical relation to my soul is a living teacher, not a dead one. It not only certainly taught me yesterday, but will almost certainly teach me tomorrow.’” Apologetics is not about winning arguments, but about growing our ability to trust Him and learning to explain that to others.
While we can learn from others and from the Bible to build up our faith, what God has done for us personally is the best testimony because it is the most real to us. Everything else is hearsay, as they say in court. We are all learning to let Him tell us where to go and what to do. To discern not only His truth, but His will, in the testimony of modern apologists and in the Bible. To make our own Ebenezers, or memorials to His faithfulness to us when we’ve acted in faith in Him, even if it meant holding on to nothing else. Therefore:
“Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” – Psalm 34:8
The best way to know that He is good is to try for ourselves, even when it’s hard or doesn’t make sense.
[1] If you don’t know, after Ravi died it was revealed that he had inappropriate relationships with massage therapists and others. A once-influential ministry ended up in tatters, and some of Ravi’s followers ended up embarrassed and wondering what to believe. [2] Hebrews 12:1b-2
Driving Toward the Morning Sun 