The trial of our faith

 

The Christian Walk was never a guaranteed walk of ease, comfort, and continuous peace. The Bible clearly shows that the life of faith—the life of genuine, living faith that honors God—is meant to be tried, purged, and proved genuine through the experiences of the trial of faith, the experiences of the life of those who know the trial of faith through its persecutions and afflictions. The trial of our faith is not a form of God’s punishment but a work of God to purify and conform us into the image of Christ.

 

The apostle Peter was speaking with the force and the love of deep conviction in the following statement: “The trial of our faith is much more precious than that of gold that perisheth, and though it be tried with fire, it might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearance of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:7).

 

Gold requires the purification fire in order to remove the dross from it, and the trials of fire will remove the dross from the life of a believer too. Trials in the life of a born-again believer are not random occurrences but serve a purpose.

 

The God who watches over the believer “neither slumbers nor sleeps” (Psalm 121:3), even in the midst of the blackest darkness.

 

The experience in the fire refines the character and qualifies the life to be made “unto praise and glory at the appearance of Jesus Christ.” The presence in the fire is “that the trial of

 

1.   Trials Test the Authenticity of Our Faith

 

Untried faith is but theoretical faith. It sounds right, looks right, and even appears robust but its character has yet to be discovered. Just as a storm will distinguish whether a house is founded upon sand or rock, a test of faith will distinguish the character of our spiritual life.

 

Several people claim to trust God until when adversity befalls them. They boldly declare their faith in God when everything is well, but when the winds and the storms come, their faith falls flat. Adversities are responsible for bringing a separation in claiming faith and having faith in God. Jesus made this point clear in the parable of the sower: shallow-hearted people receive the word joyfully but fall away when tribulation befalls them (Mark 4:17).

 

It is only when things are tough that we find out if we put our trust in God or if we have been trusting in our own flesh.

 

2.   Trials Purify the Believer

 

Gold is purified, not in cold water but in hot temperatures. Similarly, the believer will not be able to remove the contaminants of pride, self-confidence, concealed sins, and laziness in their life in a facile manner through favorable circumstances because hardship has the effect of holy fire in the process of purifying the character.

God frequently employs testing for:

·        Break our pride

 

·        Expose sinful attitudes

 

·        Rid us of self-confidence

 

·        Deliver

 

·        Purify our motives

 

·        Strengthen our character

 

·        Bring us into a deeper level of prayer

 

·        Eliminate idols in our heart

 

During hard times, we understand to stop relying upon our own powers and talents and to trust completely in the Lord. When God leads us through a difficult experience, it is not to destroy us but to refine us. The psalmist said, “Before I was afflicted, I went astray: but now I have kept thy word” (Psalm 119:67).

 Discipline obviously changed his life and brought correction to his actions because he began to keep the word of God.

 

3. Trials Bring Forth Patience and Maturity

 

James puts it succinctly: "Count it all joy when ye fall into diverse temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience” (James 1:2-3). Temptation begets patience because patience results from strengthened faith through trials and testing in our walk with the Lord. Faith grows in the same way that muscles increase when pushed against resistance in a weight-lifting routine.

 

“A Christian who has not known tribulation has a shallow experience.” “The life of the Chris­tian who has weathered the storms and has maintained his grip upon God will be richer in testimony, richer in the prayers he offers, and will be a man whose foundations are unshakable.” The test of trials will not reject the genuine faith of the child of God but will confirm and establish it in the

 

4. Persecution Brings Blessings and Heavenly Reward

 

Jesus spoke to those believers who experience tribulations because of their righteousness:

“Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you… Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven” (Matthew 5:11-12).

The fact of the matter is that crucifixion is the absence of God—not persecution. The early Christians didn’t experience growth through comfort, but through the negative experiences of adversity and torment. Those who face persecution get blessed in the present and reward in the world to come.

 

Persecution offers blessings in the following ways:

 

·        Intimacy with God

 

·        Increased grace and spiritual strength

 

·        Increased understanding of the Passion of Christ

 

·        Heavenly reward that cannot fade

 

·        An effective witness to unbelievers

 

·        Growth of the Church

 

When the apostles suffered beating because of their preaching of Christ, they rejoiced that they "could be counted worthy to suffer shame for his name" (Acts 5:41). To the natural man, this makes no sense, but to the man who has reached maturity, to be persecuted means he belongs to Christ.

 

5. Trials Bring Forth Testimonies to Inspire Others

 

There is the authority of experience in enduring the storms. Believers who walk through the fire are able to comfort those who need the comfort the believers experienced in God. The apostle Paul asserted that God is the comforter in the midst of the turmoil in order to comfort the afflicted (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

 

Each believer who endures:

 

·        A difficult season

 

·        A crushing disappointment

 

·        A painful betrayal

 

·        A devastating financial loss

 

·        A long-term illness

 

·        A season of spiritual dryness implies a period

 

·        Persecution period

 

Your trial is not in vain. Another person’s freedom, encouragement, and restoration will depend upon the telling of how God has sustained you through trial.

 

6. The Trials Teach to Lean Exclusively Upon God

 

Many Christians realize the true value of the faithfulness of God only after they lose faith in everything else in their lives. When their friends drift away, their finances fail, the door to opportunities slams shut, and their energy gives out, they find that God is enough in their lives.

 

Trial and experience will teach us lessons that prosperity will not;

 

·        “That God is our Provider”

 

·        “That He alone is our Shield”

 

·        “That He fights our battles”

 

·        “That His grace is sufficient”

 

·        “That His strength is perfected in weakness”

 

Paul prayed to God to take his “thorn in the flesh” away, but God said, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). God will calm the storm at times, but at other times, God calms his child in the storm.

 

7. Trials Help to Equip Our Future

God tries a believer before he promotes them. Joseph was tried in the pit, in slavery, in prison, and by deception before God exalted him to the throne through promotion. David was tried while escaping from Saul to become the king of the people of God. Moses was tried in the wilderness for 40 years before he delivered the people of God from Egypt.

 

Trials are frequently a training ground:

 

·        For Ministry

 

·        For leadership

 

·        For authority

 

·        For wisdom

 

·        For spiritual responsibility

 

The untried believer is not ready to be a trustworthy wielder of spiritual power. Perhaps the most comforting thing of all is this: We’re never alone in the midst of our struggles."

God was present in the lions' den with Daniel, in the burning fiery furnace with the three Hebrew boys, with Joseph in prison, with Paul in the storm, and with John in the island of Patmos.

 

Your trial of faith doesn't mean God is absent—it means God is at work. If God leads you through the fire, you know he will be there in the fire with you. If God leads you through a trial of persecution, he will hold you up with his right hand. If he leads you through a trial of loss, he will give you back what you cannot take through your own strength.

 

Conclusion

 

Our trial of faith is a refining process, a process of deepening and maturing us in order to prepare us for glory. Each trial allowed in our life is purposed by the wisdom and love of God and sifted through the filtering process of the goodness and love of God. The fire will be hot and the weight will be heavy, but our God is a faithfull calling to the work he has started in us to complete it. Be steadfast. “Endure with patience.” Trust the process of refinement. For in the end, the faith you will test will be more precious than gold and will bring glory to Jesus Christ at His appearance.