6 You now rejoice in this hope, even if it’s necessary for you to be distressed for a short time by various trials. 7 This is necessary so that your faith may be found genuine. (Your faith is more valuable than gold, which will be destroyed even though it is itself tested by fire.) Your genuine faith will result in praise, glory, and honor for you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Although you’ve never seen him, you love him. Even though you don’t see him now, you trust him and so rejoice with a glorious joy that is too much for words. 9 You are receiving the goal of your faith: your salvation.
Reflection
1:6 greatly rejoice. That is, to be exceedingly glad, jubilant. This kind of joy is not based on changing, temporal circumstances, but is instead joy that comes from our unchanging, eternal relationship with God. Peter relates this joy to 1) the assurance of one’s protected eternal inheritance (vv. 4, 5; cf. John 16:16–33) and 2) the assurance from one’s proven faith (v. 7). various trials. Peter teaches several important principles about trouble in this verse: 1) trouble does not last (“short time”); 2) trouble serves a purpose (“if it’s necessary”); 3) trouble brings distress (“distressed”); 4) trouble comes in various forms (“various trials”); and 5) trouble should not diminish the Christian’s joy (“rejoice”).
1:7 genuineness of your faith. God’s purpose in allowing trouble is to test the reality of one’s faith. But the benefit of such a testing, or “fire,” is immediately for the Christian, not God. When a believer comes through a trial still trusting the Lord, he/she is assured that their faith is genuine (cf. Gen. 22:1–12; Job 1:20–22). revelation of Jesus Christ. The revelation or unveiling of Christ refers to His second coming, particularly focusing on the time when He comes to call and reward His redeemed people (cf. v. 13; 4:13; 1 Cor. 1:7), i.e., the Rapture (1 Thess. 4:13–18).
In the October 17th, This Week at Medford UMC e-mail, Pastor Joe wrote, in part:
“At the same time, because most of us are only listening to people we agree with on social media, in our news feed, etc. we are seeing the rapid atrophy of the muscles we exercise in constructive disagreement. We are hiding away in ideological enclaves without much interaction with anyone beyond our walls. The depth of the disconnect was clear to me when I saw so many posts about Charlie Kirk begin with, “I didn’t know who he was before the other day…” That tells me so much about how we function as a society… How can we respect each other’s positions and humanity?”
I am writing this on Wednesday November 5th, the day after election day, when in great part, voters showed a great deal of antipathy to Trump’s impact on their lives. I just returned from a celebratory gathering of many people who worked very hard to support candidates who they felt had Judeo-Christian values. Part of the discussion was wondering what we are learning that will help us as a people, and a country, to better protect the lives of others.
This is real world stuff that we all need to consider if our world, our country, our community, our lives are going to be able to improve and make a better place, especially for those who are younger and deserve a better future.
God is with us, the apostle Peter reminds us that God allows trials in our lives so that we can become stronger and be more fully connected with God. Reminders like this give us the ability to believe that things will be better. Each trial can give us greater strength, love, endurance and connection with our triune God.
by Clarence Beverage
For Pondering and Prayer
It’s easy to rely on our own strength when everything’s comfortable. But when comfort fades, we realize how desperately we need God’s guidance and provision. As Jesus assured, “In this world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!” (John 16:33). By relying on the One who overcame, our hearts learn genuine trust that can’t be shaken by circumstances.
Having walked through pain, we’re equipped to understand the hurts of those around us. Second Corinthians 1:4 highlights that God “comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” Pain can transform us into empathetic encouragers and dependable friends for those who feel alone in their struggles.
What are you being challenged to overcome?
Have you gone through a trial that has equipped you to help someone else be more open?
