KEEP TRUSTING IN THE MIDST OF THE TESTING -- Devotional for July 26, from "Good Seeds"

That the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (I Peter 1:7)

The recipients of this letter from Peter were Christians who believed in Jesus Christ with all of their hearts. From his opening remarks we can see that they had already experienced quite a bit of pain and persecution for their trouble. In verse 6 Peter says he’s well aware of the distress of multiplied and variegated trials they were now suffering. In verse 7 he speaks of the trial by fire their faith had been put to. But he’s not just commenting, he’s commending: “Good for you,” he says, “for hanging in their when many would have turned back to their old lives long before now.” As minister of music in my church, I am constantly on the lookout for the genuine article when it comes to worship (in myself, too, of course). Jesus said we must worship God “in spirit and in truth.” There is so much hype and hypocrisy, so much opinion and comparison, so much emotion and entertainment, and so much commercialism and criticism in Christian worship today that it must be a great joy to our Lord when He senses someone breaking away from all that, and hears not just the voices but the hearts of His children crying out, “It’s not about me, Jesus – it’s all about You.” Does it take a test of trials and temptations and troubles for us to finally be found, as were Peter’s friends, in a state of “praise and glory and honor”? Yes, I think maybe it does. When we who believe in Jesus live lives of relative ease and comfort, when things are more or less going our way, when our basic human needs are provided for by the normal resources of our advanced civilization – when “God’s in His heaven and all’s well with our world” – what do we have to thank or praise God for, really? But when the bottom falls out: when we lose a friend or loved one, when we lose our job or our health, when tragedy or despondency strikes – in other words, when our faith is put to the test – this is when we start really worshiping God, or turn our backs on Him and walk away. Gold is refined by placing it in a crucible and turning up the heat. The impurities then rise to the surface and can be scoured off and removed. And when that happens to you or to me, it may hurt like the dickens but this is how we get to know God, and how we learn to love Him and worship Him. When we keep trusting Him in the midst of the testing, that is when He knows the refining process is doing its job. What is the most precious thing about us to God? Our faith. When He turns up the heat, and we turn on the praise, that’s when He knows He’s got us. Has He got you?