Suffering = Sanctification

As I was praying this morning, I was reminded of the passage in 1 Peter about God's purpose in trials and suffering. I strongly felt the Spirit prompting me to look it up because it is so relevant to both Marty and I in each of our unique trials at the moment. I love it when God speaks through His word like that, and I can't get enough of reading it! Here it is...

"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while 

you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.

These have come so that your faith 

- of greater worth than gold, which perishes 

even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine 

and may result in praise, glory and honour 

when Jesus Christ is revealed...

 for you are receiving the goal of your faith, 

the salvation of your souls."

[1 Peter 1:6-7,9]

It is such a wonderful passage because it highlights so many truths:

1 |  Our suffering is only temporary. 

      God will carry us through it, and will bring us out the other side.

2 | When we come out the other side we will not be the same as we were beforehand. 

     He is refining our faith, just like gold is refined through fire.

3 | Our faith is God's priority. 

     He wants us to be growing and to be refined so that we are conformed to the likeness of Christ.

4 | The gospel doesn't end with us. 

     If it ended with us, we would be tempted to get puffed up with pride. 

     Instead, the culmination of all of our suffering and refinement is that God will be glorified when Jesus is  

     revealed.

I find it so encouraging amidst trials to read this and understand that there is purpose in what I'm going through, and that God is working perhaps even more intensively than if things were a lot easier for me. Looking back on seasons of my walk with God, I am most grateful for the times of trial and suffering because I can now see that it was in those times that I grew the most; that I was forced to my knees in submission to God's will, and I learned how to really, truly trust my Heavenly Father. Nothing compares to these times, and if God's priority is that we keep growing in our faith, then we should expect them, anticipate them, and rejoice in them because the Lord has our full attention and can work most powerfully in us through them.

"In the daytime there are stars in the heavens, 

but they only shine at night.

And the deeper that I go into darkness,

The more I see their radiant light.

So let me learn that my losses are my gain,

To be broken is to heal,

That the valley's where your power is revealed."

['In the Valley', Sovereign Grace]