Strong Faith

So be truly glad.  There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold— though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. [1 Peter 1.6-7]

I don’t like trials any more than anyone else. But it appears trials are a fact of llife.

We need a renewed way of thinking about trials though! Peter makes very clear here that trials present no uncertain opportunity to prove our faith!

As silly as it may seem, and regardless of outcome, we should keep believing.

I know for myself trials generally discourage me. According to Peter however we have another option besides discouragement! We have the Divine opportunity to remained sure in our faith! What?

Yep, every trial is an opportunity to check up on ourselves… to repent, seek God, and rest entirely upon His mercy.

We MUST be convinced that God doesn’t test us or send us trials so He can know what is in us! Tests and trials are designed to show US what is in us!

Trials reveal to us areas of our lives that we need to show faith! That faith is revealed in steadfastly believing that God is good and that He loves us, that ”bad things” (ie. anything defined as a curse in Deuteronomy 28) are the result of sin and require repentance, and that confession and belief in Jesus bring redemption from every curse.

Strong faith believes God is good.

Strong faith believes the Bible (that every curse is the result of sin and signifies the need for repentance.)

Strong faith believes Jesus is the answer to everything.

Strong faith has no contingencies.

Father, I want to demonstrate strong faith!