This past week, at my church, we had a prayer time for our team going to Honduras on a missions trip (leaving July 16th, by the way). It was a great time of prayer and blessing each other, speaking words of encouragement, prophecy and exhortation to each other. I think we were all built up in the Lord. One of the girls on our team gave a word of encouragement to me. Part of what she said was, "It's gonna be worth it."
I don't remember all that she said, precisely, but I believe she referred to some of the trials I have been through, essentially saying that everything I've been through is going to be worth it. I don't repeat this here to draw attention to myself, but, hopefully to bring some encouragement to you as well. We all go through trials. Sometimes those trials run deep. Sometimes our trials are obvious to others. And sometimes, we may feel that others are unaware of the burden we carry.
Interestingly enough, the girl who encouraged me, referenced my sun burnt feet. Three weeks ago we did a car wash as a fundraiser for our missions trip. I was wearing some sandles that left the tops of my feet exposed. When I saw they were getting pink from the sun I applied sunscreen, but it was too late. By the end of the day they were burnt pretty bad. By later that next week I was concerned enough to call the 24 hour phone line of my health insurance and speak to a nurse. What if they get infected and I lose my feet?!? That would not be good.
Within a couple of days of calling my insurance help line my feet started to look better. Now, 3 weeks later, they're still pink, but much, much better. Was the pain worth it? Sure, it was, because we raised money for the trip. In this case, my pain could have been avoided. But, in life, there is certainly pain we simply cannot avoid.
Enough people saw my feet that first week after they were burnt to comment on how bad they looked or express concern. It hurt bad enough that I sort of limped around for a short while. Yet, with my shoes on, and if I would have walked normally, no one would have ever seen my pain. I could have hidden it.
Likewise, there is some pain in life that everyone sees. It's obvious. There may be other pain that we try to hide. Or, perhaps we're not trying to hide it, it's just not as obvious to others around us. Perhaps we want others to see, to help, but we don't know how to reach out and tell others how bad we are hurting.
Our pain can be very personal. The hidden things of our hearts may find expression through a downcast face. People may ask us, "Are you okay?" "Is something wrong?" We may or may not be comfortable telling them the truth. "I'm fine." "I'm doing okay." Are we really? Sometimes life is like that. We may ask ourselves, "Does anyone really know what I'm going through?" "Am I the only one who hurts like this?"
Indeed, there are times, when we pour our hearts out to God, and it seems only He is the one who understands.
The Scripture says, that for a little while, "you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials." (I Peter 1:6) Grief, to me, implies something deeper than just having a bad day at work. Grief seems like something more prolonged than sun burnt feet. How about a problem that just never seems to go away? How about a temptation that buffets your soul and you just want to be free of it? How about an emotional wound that just never seems to heal? How about a loved one you care about deeply, who continues to suffer physically or emotionally?
Prior to pointing out how we may have had to "suffer grief in all kinds of trials," Peter tells us that, "In this you greatly rejoice..." (vs. 6) What, exactly are we rejoicing in? Well, we're rejoicing in some unchangeable facts of God:
I don't remember all that she said, precisely, but I believe she referred to some of the trials I have been through, essentially saying that everything I've been through is going to be worth it. I don't repeat this here to draw attention to myself, but, hopefully to bring some encouragement to you as well. We all go through trials. Sometimes those trials run deep. Sometimes our trials are obvious to others. And sometimes, we may feel that others are unaware of the burden we carry.
Interestingly enough, the girl who encouraged me, referenced my sun burnt feet. Three weeks ago we did a car wash as a fundraiser for our missions trip. I was wearing some sandles that left the tops of my feet exposed. When I saw they were getting pink from the sun I applied sunscreen, but it was too late. By the end of the day they were burnt pretty bad. By later that next week I was concerned enough to call the 24 hour phone line of my health insurance and speak to a nurse. What if they get infected and I lose my feet?!? That would not be good.
Within a couple of days of calling my insurance help line my feet started to look better. Now, 3 weeks later, they're still pink, but much, much better. Was the pain worth it? Sure, it was, because we raised money for the trip. In this case, my pain could have been avoided. But, in life, there is certainly pain we simply cannot avoid.
Enough people saw my feet that first week after they were burnt to comment on how bad they looked or express concern. It hurt bad enough that I sort of limped around for a short while. Yet, with my shoes on, and if I would have walked normally, no one would have ever seen my pain. I could have hidden it.
Likewise, there is some pain in life that everyone sees. It's obvious. There may be other pain that we try to hide. Or, perhaps we're not trying to hide it, it's just not as obvious to others around us. Perhaps we want others to see, to help, but we don't know how to reach out and tell others how bad we are hurting.
Our pain can be very personal. The hidden things of our hearts may find expression through a downcast face. People may ask us, "Are you okay?" "Is something wrong?" We may or may not be comfortable telling them the truth. "I'm fine." "I'm doing okay." Are we really? Sometimes life is like that. We may ask ourselves, "Does anyone really know what I'm going through?" "Am I the only one who hurts like this?"
Indeed, there are times, when we pour our hearts out to God, and it seems only He is the one who understands.
The Scripture says, that for a little while, "you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials." (I Peter 1:6) Grief, to me, implies something deeper than just having a bad day at work. Grief seems like something more prolonged than sun burnt feet. How about a problem that just never seems to go away? How about a temptation that buffets your soul and you just want to be free of it? How about an emotional wound that just never seems to heal? How about a loved one you care about deeply, who continues to suffer physically or emotionally?
Prior to pointing out how we may have had to "suffer grief in all kinds of trials," Peter tells us that, "In this you greatly rejoice..." (vs. 6) What, exactly are we rejoicing in? Well, we're rejoicing in some unchangeable facts of God:
- God has given us mercy (vs. 3)
- We've been born again (vs. 3)
- We have hope through the resurrection of Jesus (vs. 3)
- We have an inheritance in heaven (vs. 4)
- We are shielded by God's power through faith (vs. 5)
- Our salvation is on the way (vs. 5)
Despite our present difficulties, we have much to rejoice in! As we lift up our eyes to heaven, the reward that awaits us does seem worth the pain of our temporary circumstances. Yes, for now, there are some trials. There is some grief. But the Scripture goes on to say,
"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 honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." (vs. 7)God is doing something on the inside of us that is priceless. Our trials test and refine our faith. Yet, there is glory when Christ is revealed through our trials. We are being conformed to the image and likeness of Jesus Christ. (see Romans 8:29) You may not see it now, but it's going to be worth it. The end result, the finished and polished product, is going to reveal Christ to others. When you emerge from your trial, tried and true, refined as gold, it's gonna be worth it!
"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, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls."I Peter 1:8-9
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