Verse: 1 Peter 1:6-7
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.
Series: 1 Peter
Devotion
Sometimes the rearview mirror of life is annoying isn’t it? Do you have anything you look back on and think, “what was I thinking?”
I have many, but there are a few that I look back on and I just wish I could go back and get a do-over. Several of those times bother me, because they were instances where I was put under stress and I didn’t respond in love. Basically when my faith and character were tested by strain, it showed my true colors (which weren’t good). Like squeezing a mustard bottle, and ketchup coming out instead – when I was squeezed, NOT Christ-like character came out. And that bothers me.
This is how this verse is speaking to me this morning. Peter talks of the “proven genuineness of [our] faith.” How is it genuine? When the bottle is squeezed, when life is pressurized, godly character comes out. And how is it proven? Through stress, trial, pressure, and pain. When the going gets rough, when we don’t get what we want, when someone stubs our emotional toes, then our true colors come out. These times of stress and pain are GREAT times for us to look IN THE MIRROR and see what is coming out of our lives. Are the words, actions, thoughts, and desires that are stirred in us CHRIST-LIKE or not?
He says that even gold will eventually perish and THAT is tested through the fire. It is “refined” by fire. The process of refining is to “remove impurities.” Through fire gold is refined, removing impurities, and making it PURE gold. But even THAT will expire eventually.
Our faith is more long lasting than that! And I think part of his point is, it is refined in a very similar way: through fire and testing. In other words: stress and pain are opportune times to see where we are in our spiritual maturity, and then lean into the areas where we need God’s help to grow.
So my encouragement this morning is this: instead of waiting to look in the rear view mirror, let’s look in the actual mirror. Right now. As I’m put under stress (or next time you are) what is coming out of my mouth, my heart, and my life? And then lean into the areas where I need to grow, so later on the rear view mirror looks better!
Prayer
God I pray that you would refine my faith. I know that it might get painful, but I want to be more like the me you are calling to me to be, and less like the me that my sinful nature leads me towards.
Author: Christian Dunn
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