September 2, 2017

Praise Through Suffering

“Praise (eulogetos) 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. This inheritance is 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 all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷ These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”   1 Peter 1:3-7

Below is the pattern we can discover in this passage:

·         Blessed be God and Jesus

·         God has given us new birth and an imperishable inheritance

·         The inheritance is being kept for us in heaven

·         We rejoice now, while we await that future inheritance

·         While we wait, we suffer grief in trials, to produce the reality of our faith

·         Our proven faith from such trials results in praise, glory and honor when Jesus is revealed

Before going any further, let’s be very clear on an important point: this is not Peter’s invitation to suffering.  Rather, he is stating that in following Jesus, suffering will come.  It is the way of the cross.  We do not have to go looking for it; it will come to us.  When it does come, it is producing something inside us – our faith.  It is producing faith, deepening faith, and refining faith.  Your faith, having gone through the refiner’s fire of trials, is more valuable than gold!  As you go through the trials and storms of life and your faith grows – your faith points to Jesus and “fits upon Him” praise, glory, and honor.  The word for praise here is “epainos.” 

How many trials of suffering have you experienced?  Have you thought about some of them as ways to establish and grow your faith?  Have you considered that each time you walked in faith during those trials, it brought praise and glory and honor to God?  Is there a trial you are facing right now?  Is your faith “fitting praise” on the Lord?