Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 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.
1 Peter 1:3-7


Have you experienced suffering in your life?  Have you had to suffer grief, trials and/or persecution?  Although the topic of suffering can be a hard one to deal with, no matter how strong our faith is, it is one that, nevertheless, all Christians will face at one time or another in their lives.


However, we can take great comfort from God because it is a topic on which the Bible does not stay silent, with many passages talking about the subject.  And while I am probably the last person to ask about how Christians should respond to suffering in a godly and holy manner, I do find these verses from 1 Peter to be encouraging.


This passage firstly calls us to praise God for the mercy he has shown us through Jesus' atonement for our sins.  It goes further to say that, not only has God offered us salvation (and hope), but he has also graciously prepared an eternal inheritance for us in heaven.  And we should rejoice in what God has done for us!


But not only should we rejoice, we should rejoice even though we may have to suffer before we come into our heavenly inheritance.  Although we may have to suffer (and suffering is not something we like to go through), our suffering and trials should prove the authenticity of our faith.  And having shown that our faith in God, deemed to be "of greater worth than gold", is genuine, this should bring praise and glory to God, and even praise and glory given from God to us.


So for all those of you who are suffering or still grieving and recovering from trials you have been through, may this passage give you hope and encourage you to keep praising God and trusting Him even through your toughest times.  And for all of us, may this passage always be in our hearts, reminding us of God's great love for us and also encouraging us to pray for others in their time of need and trials.

Deb - dspdavey/Domum Vindemia




Comments (9)

On March 1, 2013 at 2:53 PM , sammysgrammy said...

Thanks you for a "golden" post accompanied by much fine gold......

 
On March 1, 2013 at 2:59 PM , MYSAVIOR said...

Deb - this is beautiful and a reminder to me to write my blog post on a dream I had on Salvation.

Great Finds!!!
♥♥♥
Sue

 
On March 1, 2013 at 8:58 PM , LisaMDSkinner said...

How precious is our Lord and Savior, and His Salvation...worth far more than any earthly riches !

 
On March 1, 2013 at 9:00 PM , Karla said...

deb, this is a wonderful post and i love the theme.
it is so good to be reminded that He allows our hardships, trials, and suffering to purify us and make us more like His perfect Son, Jesus.
blessings to all cast team members as we are in this most wonderful season as followers of Christ.
He is RISEN!!!
karla
polka dot rose
philipians 2:9-11

 
On March 1, 2013 at 9:29 PM , N. said...

Lovely words, and beautiful listings!
Noelle
regiftstore

 
On March 2, 2013 at 1:19 AM , Cynthia said...

Amen, Deb!
He is mine!
He is yours!
He is ours!
Through everything!
He is there for us!
Thank you, Deb! I am so full! Thank you, for this post!

 
On March 2, 2013 at 8:00 AM , Sue Runyon said...

Great finds and words of wisdom. Thanks so much, Deb.

 
On March 2, 2013 at 9:47 AM , the butlers pottery said...

Deb such a well written post and a reminder for us to that if we have the faith we are shielded by God. Our ladies bible study is similar to this post.

 
On March 2, 2013 at 12:57 PM , Lifes Joyous Moments said...

Very Lovley Thank you!