1 Peter 1:3-9 – 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. 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. 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 end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
V6 – Looking back to James 1:2 where James tells us to consider it “pure joy”
“whenever”, or “when” we go through trials. Now Peter is telling us to rejoice in our great salvation that we have received through Jesus Christ, and to continue to rejoice in our salvation, though we will “suffer grief in all kinds of trials.” Trials are not fun, but we can remain in the “pure joy” as James called us to do. How can we “suffer grief” through a myriad of trials, and still retain our pure joy? Let’s remember who and what our pure joy is. The joy that the Lord has given us is not based upon the circumstances in this life. It is based upon the eternal position we have with God through Jesus our Lord. Let’s consider and agree upon that before moving on. Let’s stop and think about it. The joy that the Lord has given us is not based upon the circumstances in this life. It is based upon the eternal position we have with God through Jesus our Lord.
Jesus was very open in letting all who would listen know that anyone, and everyone, who followed him would have trials and tribulations. He said “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.” Matthew 5:10 In Matthew 10:22 Jesus says “You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:9 records Jesus prophesying “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.” Jesus gave a warning and promise in Mark 13:9-13 “9 You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. 10 And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. 11 Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. 12 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 13 Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” There are also many verses in the epistles that foretell of the suffering and trials that will come to us: Romans 8:17,36, 2 Corinthians 1:7, Philippians 3:10, James 5:10-11, 1 Peter 3:14, 1 Peter 4:16, Philippians 1:29). We are plentifully warned and foretold that all who follow Christ will go through trials.
Let’s separate trials from correction. Sometimes we persist in sin, or start down a path of sin, and the Lord corrects us. Of course, we know that the Lords corrects His own. He does it because of His great love for us. Like our earthly fathers corrected us from their love for us, so our Heavenly Father corrects us out of His love for us. Only God’s correction is perfect, never designed for punishment, but it is designed for correction, and is confirmation to us that we are His and He loves us (Hebrews 12:6). Discipline is not trials. Discipline is the result of wrong doing. Trials are when we have done nothing wrong, but are persecuted because Christ loves us and because we love Him and are His disciples. Remember that the battle we fight is spiritual (Ephesians 6:12). So discipline that we deserve is from God’s love for us. Trials are the attacks of the enemy because we belong to God. Now some people do not want to consider such things. They don’t want us to put too much emphasis on spiritual. They don’t want us to see a devil behind every door. Family, sometimes our flesh is the reason we sin. But truly I have found that the great danger, the more frequent mistake, is not putting too much emphasis on the spiritual behind matters, but the ignoring of the spiritual behind matters. That is what is related in His Word.
In these noted verses we find that is clearly stated that we are persecuted because we belong to Jesus. The enemy has evil intent. Yet he is the unwitting tool of the Lord to strengthen and build us. God is always in control. We see from the book of Job that Lord put constraints on the devil. He would allow the testing of Job, but God restrained the enemy from killing Job. In the end, the Lord gave to Job more than he previously had. More importantly, Job was strengthened and his faith in God proved. Yes, Job suffered, but then He was blessed for being faithful. In the verses quoted above we see that we are told that we will have troubles and sufferings in this world. However, we are not alone in our sufferings, Jesus has promised us peace, comfort and His fellowship through it all (John 14:27, 2 Corinthians 1:4, Deuteronomy 31:6, Hebrews 13:5).
In these verses telling us that trials will come to those who truly love Jesus there is also a prophecy, also a promise. The promise is that those who endure shall be with God forever. So how do we have joy in the midst of suffering? It is that the foundation, yes even the fount of our joy, our pleasure and our delight is not found in anything or any person in this world. Our joy, our eternal and unshakable joy is based on our great and sure hope. It is that no matter what we go through, no matter how hard the times are, regardless of suffering and extreme grief in this world, these things are something that is separate from our joy in the Lord, who is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10). Happiness in this world is a blessing. Good circumstances in this world are a blessing. We all like it when everything is going well. Then we are happy. Yet the world can turn on a dime and everything in this world can go from very good, to very bad, in an instant. Then, the happiness in my worldly circumstances changes to sorrow. But the joy we have in the Lord is never lost. Our joy is based on what does not change, our God and His promises (Numbers 23:19). With our hearts and spiritual eyes focused on Jesus, our joy remains. We never lose God, therefore we never lose the sure hope that we have of one day being beyond the trials and suffering in this world and eternally with God the Father, Jesus His Son and the Holy Spirit. In fact we get stronger in the trials. Our hope burns brighter and calls to us even deeper in our souls. With our eyes focused on the Lord, the trials and horrors of this world are juxtaposed beside the sure blessings and hope, and the sure love and grace of God. The difference is obvious. The choice is obvious. It is the picture of evil and ugly personified next to the picture of the beauty and love of all that God is. Yes, our joy grows stronger and brighter in trials. The deeper the trial, the more clearly we see the difference. Trials break the illusion that we have of our joy being complete in the ways of this world. In this world we have many joys and blessings, but the true blessings are from God (James 1:7). If we wisely view our blessings and consider who it is who provided them, we see it is God. We look to God, and the hope He provides, and there is our joy. Pure and eternal joy! Trials and suffering reveal the beauty of God. Trials and suffering show us the foolishness of clinging to the ways of the world and they show us the wonder, beauty and blessings of clinging to God. With our eyes firmly focused on God, our joy never wanes. Happiness in the world is a roller coaster, but the joy of the Lord remains. In fact, it grows within us and cannot be separated from those who love the Lord. No trial can separate us from the joy of the Lord. Not ever! Praise God! Family, let us live in the joy of the Lord. Thank you Jesus!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God.