The Fiery Ordeal
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking
place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.
But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may
also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed. If you are reviled
for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is
the Spirit of God, is resting on you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer,
a thief, a criminal, or even as a mischief maker. Yet if any of you suffers as
a Christian, do not consider it a disgrace, but glorify God because you bear
this name. For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of
God; if it begins with us, what will be the end for those who do not obey the
gospel of God? And “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will
become of the ungodly and the sinners?” Therefore, let those suffering in accordance with God’s will entrust themselves to a faithful
Creator, while continuing to do good.
1 Peter 4:12-19
When we don’t understand the circumstances that surround us, it
is easy to be shaken by life’s alarms. The trials and heartaches of life may
sound like a call to run away or to respond to life in ways that are
disheartening and destructive. But we would do well to listen more closely to
our Lord. The trial may be nothing more than a reminder that our trust is to be
in God, not in people. We can trust Him in those times when the alarms start to
sound.
Life’s challenges are not designed to
break us
but to bend us toward God.
Our Daily Bread –