Dealing with Trouble (Pt 3)

1 Peter 1:5-7 (ESV)

[5] who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. [6] In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, [7] so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

In my previous two blogs I was reflecting on Psalm 23:4, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. . .”  It is inevitable that life includes walking through these valleys. The question is: How do we walk through the valley safely? To do so we must understand the value of trouble and the necessity of being patient as we walk through it. These are the principles I addressed in the earlier blogs, but there is a third principle. We must accept the necessity of walking through trouble.

1 Peter 1:6 says that we rejoice in our salvation and in the truth that we are being guarded by the power of God “though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials.” Sometimes the trials are necessary. Why? “so that the tested genuineness of your faith . . . may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet 1:7).

God does not test our faith to see if it is genuine. He tests our faith to prove that it is genuine. In the Gold Rush days there were assayers whose job it was to test the gold. The assayers tested the quality of the gold. The better quality, the purer the gold, the more valuable it was. God, however, does not test our faith to see if it is real, but to prove that it is real.

Hebrews 11:1 says that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” If it is seen there is not need for faith. If my neighbor invites me to dinner I come hungry, believing that there will be food when I arrive. That is faith. Once I see the table set, the food on the table, and am invited to sit down to the meal there is no longer faith. Similarly, it does not take much faith to live a “holy” life when everything is going well. It is when we are in the midst of trouble, loss, pain, and difficulty that faith is demonstrated.

Job 1:9-11 makes that point.

[9] Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? [10] Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. [11] But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.”

In church we often talk about being a witness to the world. They need to see our faith. We are taught to not drink or to not get drunk, to not gamble, to not go to certain establishments because that would hurt our testimony. But let’s be honest, most unbelievers are not drawn to Christ by the things we don’t do. They are drawn to Christ when they see the peace of Christ in the midst of pain. They are drawn to Christ when they see us serving others when it is not convenient. They are drawn to Christ when the see our faith in action at a time when the world is filled with anxiety and fear.

This pandemic is a perfect time for the world to see the genuine character of our faith, if it is in fact genuine. Do we really believe that God is in control even when everything seems out of control? Do we really believe that we can trust God when we cannot see him or feel his presence? Do we really believe that “for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Rom 8:28)? God allowed Satan to take everything away from Job. “Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped” (Job 1:20). His faith was real. How real is our faith?

There is value in walking through dark valleys. There our faith is tested and proved genuine. There we are molded into the image of Christ. So we walk patiently by faith trusting that God knows what he is doing. It is in the darkest times that we truly learn what it means to trust God. We can trust that “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” Sometimes the way of escape is found by walking through the darkness of the valley trusting God. An old hymn begins with these words,

Simply trusting every day;

Trusting through a stormy way;

Even when my faith is small,

Trusting Jesus, that is all.

May that be our prayer and the song in our hearts today.