Rejoicing Through Trials

Intro

I have to say—this is a first for me. Leading up to this morning, as I sit here with a broken leg to preach, the most frequently asked question I’ve received over the last couple of months is this: How long is it until you get these off? While this is the most natural question to ask, it naturally brings my pessimistic self towards the foreign land of optimism: “Just another month or so!”

That’s until I visit my physiotherapist a month later and she tells me that I will be delayed for “just another month or so.” And that’s when my vacation in Optimist-ville ends and I start questioning. Complaining. Wondering why. Even when faced with passages about rejoicing when trials come, like our passage this morning, why should I and how can I rejoice in this?

Think about someone who receives the news of a disease like cancer and has to take medication or go into chemotherapy with zero clues when it will be over. What about someone who loses a loved one—whether to death or to a broken relationship. How do you “count that all joy” and rejoice in those situations and in those moments?

This is the tension that we face in our passage this morning in 1 Peter 1:6-7 as Peter talks about rejoicing through trials because it results in something that will cause for more rejoicing—and he begins with this idea of rejoicing—which is why our first big idea is The Reason For Rejoicing.

A. The Reason For Rejoicing (1:6a)

“In this you rejoice.”

The first question we need to ask here is: In what do you rejoice? And we get the answer in the verses prior, which we talked about last week: “In this” refers back to the living hope/inheritance/salvation that God is guarding for us and guarding us for through faith (1:3-5). And when he says “you,” Peter is saying this to the elect exiles of the Dispersion (1:1)—Christians who are far away from their homeland—encouraging them to have an eternal perspective.

For this reason, Peter calls them to rejoice! Essentially, Peter is saying: For you Christians who are far away from home, rejoice in this bright future that God is keeping for you and keeping you for. In this hope you were called; in this hope you were saved; so, in this hope you rejoice!

Now, you might think that rejoicing is an obvious response to the certainty of great promises regarding your future—but Peter also puts that into perspective for his current readers because they need to continue rejoicing in light of their bright future despite what happens in the present day—which is why our second big idea is Rejoicing Through Trials.

B. Rejoicing Through Trials (1:6b)

“Though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials.” Here, notice that Peter gives four elements regarding these trials. First, we see that these trials are temporary.

I. Temporary

“Though now for a little while…”

Since Peter says this in contrast to the sure future of the believer in eternity, now almost certainly refers to this current, physical, and temporary life on earth. However, the language of “for a little while" is a little bit less certain.

For example, think about how we would use this phrase today. When a say “I’ll be a little while” likely means “I’ll be about 5-10 minutes.” However, in Filipino culture, “I’ll be a little while” probably means “I’ll be there in an hour or so.” Or when you think about someone who’s worked at the same place for a while, it likely means 20 years or so.

In a way, Peter uses this phrase to that effect. In comparison to eternity, the trials throughout your lifetime on earth—whether they’re short or long in your sense of time—are still only for a little while. Think about how Peter’s readers would’ve received this, as elect exiles who were consistently being treated unjustly as Christians by their authorities (2:18-19) or the people around them (4:4). It’s as if Peter is saying: “Hang in there guys—it’s only for a little while.”

Yet, Peter’s words have major implications for us as Christians today as we wrestle with trials in our lives. For one, God doesn’t promise us a quick recovery time from physical trials, whether it’s a broken bone or a failing heart. In fact, God doesn’t promise us a recovery at all in this life, even if we “claim healing in Jesus’ name”—because Christ has already healed us of our true disease when he “bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24).

Rather than expecting God to heal us of our physical ailments, we should expect to rejoice through these trials because it’s only for a little while in comparison to the eternal glory ahead of us. Listen to Peter as he takes up this language again at the end of the letter as he gives a pastoral encouragement to his flock:

“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” (1 Peter 5:10).

So we rejoice through these temporary trials as well as the necessary ones—which is the second element that we see in this passage.

II. Necessary

“Though now for a little while, if necessary…”

The first question that came to my mind is this: if necessary—according to who? If we look at verse 3, God is the one who has caused us to be born again to a living hope. In other words, God was and is the one at work—so we can safely conclude that Peter hasn’t changed his flow of thought here. God is the one at work, so he is the one who wills it as necessary when we are grieved by various trials.

Peter verifies this reality later on in chapter 3: “For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil” (3:17). Notice that Peter says if that should be God’s will. Peter is saying that believers may suffer for doing what is right—or they might not, if that should be God’s will. So when we see the words “if necessary,” it is safe to interpret this as “if [God wills it as] necessary.”

Yet, the question remains: how do we rejoice through these trials that God has willed for us as necessary? Well, for the same reason that Peter states in verse 5. If God is powerfully guarding our imperishable inheritance through faith, then we can rejoice in this hope by faith in knowing that God deems it necessary for us to go through these trials so that we receive our eternal inheritance on the last day!

EXPAND ON IMPLICATIONS OF GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY IN SUFFERING HERE?

So not only do we rejoice in hope through these temporary and necessary trials as willed by God, but also through the grievous trials—which is the third element that Peter provides here.

III. Grievous

“Though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved…”

Though it be temporary, God is the one who finds it necessary to grieve you in those moments. Think about the words of Jesus when God was grieving him in Gethsemane in view of his suffering on the cross: “And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful [grieved] and troubled. Then he said to them, ‘My soul is very sorrowful [grieved], even to death’” (Matthew 26:37-38).

And this is what God calls his chosen people to, as Peter explains later on in chapter 2: “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps” (2:21). But what we see from Jesus’ example here is that grief is an appropriate response to these trials, since God brings these trials about in a grievous way.

Listen to Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane right before he was to be betrayed by unjust men: “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:29). Though Jesus was tempted to bypass the grievous trial that God deemed necessary for him to bear, he submitted to God’s will in his time of trial—knowing that it was only for a little while—and “continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:23).

So we grieve—“yet always rejoicing” (2 Corinthians 6:10), as the apostle Paul effectively connects when talking about his sufferings in the present life. Rejoicing through trials means rejoicing in hope through the temporary, necessary, and grievous God-given trials in this life. However, Peter notes that there are also various trials, which is the fourth element.

IV. Various

“Though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials.”

In the NIV, this reads as “all kinds of trials.” Throughout the letter, there seems to be a specific kind of trial that these elect exiles were facing—which was verbal persecution due to their Christian identity. They were suffering unjustly (2:19) by being slandered (3:16), maligned (4:4) and insulted (4:14) by the people around them—simply for being a Christian.

However, I think it’s safe to say that Peter’s words here generally apply to all kinds of trials—literally. James also applies this to his readers who were faced with poverty and other types of persecution: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds” (James 1:2). Whether it’s sickness or slander or persecution for your faith, Peter calls his readers to rejoice through these temporary, necessary, grievous and various God-given trials in hope!

This begs the question, however: what is the reason for these trials? Peter answers this in verse 7, which brings us to our second big idea: The Reason For Trials. And the first reason is So That Your Tested, Proven and Genuine Faith Like Tested Gold May Result In Praise, Glory and Honour. Let’s break this reason down into three parts.

C. The Reason For Trials

I. So That Your Tested, Proven and Genuine Faith… (1:7a)

“Though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials so that the tested genuineness of your faith…”

I’m cutting off Peter mid-statement here to emphasize the direct connection that he assumes between the trials in verse 6 and tested faith in verse 7. Here’s an equation to help us understand Peter’s flow of thought: Trials = tested faith. This connection is also echoed by other translations of the Bible.

In the NIV, “tested genuineness” is translated as “proven genuineness.” In the NASB, it’s simply translated as “proof.” So, if trials = tested faith, then tested faith = proven faith, and proven faith = genuine faith. As opposed to a cause and effect scenario (like trials lead to testing), Peter explains this more as a parallel equation.

This is really helpful to understand how Peter connects all of his dense thoughts in these verses: The different trials that God deems necessary to grieve you with in this present day (1:6) make sure that your faith is tested, proven and genuine (1:7)—so that you might receive the inheritance that God is guarding for you through [your tried/tested/proven/genuine] faith (1:5)!

Then, Peter likens this parallel equation to gold that is tested by fire—which is there second part of the reason for trials: Like Tested Gold.

II. Like Tested Gold… (1:7b)

“More precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire…

By saying this, Peter is implying two things about the nature of gold: 1) Gold was one of the (if not the) most precious and valuable commodities to have back then, and his readers would’ve known that. 2) While gold is tested by fire to remove its impurities and refine it, it’s still able to be destroyed in various ways (perishable).

With that understanding, we can now see why Peter connects the precious and perishable nature of gold to the nature of our proven faith:

1) Our proven faith is more precious than the most precious commodity of this earth, because our proven faith is guaranteed to come out pure on the last day through the fiery trials that test our faith today (1 Peter 4:12).

2) Our precious, pure and proven faith will not perish since our faith is the means by which God guards our imperishable inheritance for us to receive on the last day (1:5)! Simply put, God guarding our faith until the end means that He will guard us until the end—even through all the trials!

What Peter is describing here is different than the idea that some people have of “once saved, always saved.” That idea is that once you become a Christian, often by praying a prayer, you’re good, and even if you stop following Jesus, even if you stop believing in Him altogether, you’ll be in heaven one day because once you’re saved, you’re always saved.

That’s not what the Bible teaches. We’ve seen here that believing isn’t something we do once. The people who receive their full and final salvation are those who believe and keep on believing to the end. But it’s all by grace because it’s actually God‘s power guarding us through faith. He makes sure that His children persevere to the end.

And this is how we understand how these different passages in Scripture fit together. Think of John 10, where Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:27–29).

But then Colossians 3:22 says that we’ll be fully and finally saved only “if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard.” On the one hand, Jesus keeps His sheep from perishing, making sure they get eternal life. On the other hand, we only get eternal life if we press on in faith. And those two ideas don’t contradict each other.

Rather, the conclusion is that Jesus keeps His sheep from perishing *by* empowering and sustaining their persevering faith. He makes sure that they don’t stop believing. He is, like Jude 24 says, keeping us from stumbling.

To sum up, our precious, imperishable faith that has been proven and tested by God’s fiery trials is the guarantee that gives us our imperishable inheritance that God is guarding for us on the last day! So, the third part of the reason for trials is this: so that your gold tested faith May Result In Praise, Glory and Honour.

III. May Result In Praise, Glory and Honour (1:7c)

“…may be found to result in praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Here is the end goal of our tested, proven and genuine faith = praise, glory and honour. Think about it: when gold is refined, all the dross and impurities float to the top and becomes even more precious and even more pure. So when our faith is tested by God like gold is tested by fire, his goal is that our faith results in more purity and praise-worthiness—in such a way that burns up all of our other sources of worth that we only find our value in him, which is for our good.

God purifies our faith so that we receive praise. God grieves us with trials so that we receive glory. God tests our faith to make sure that we receive honour. All of the trials, all of the testing, and all of the refining in this life is God making sure that our faith produces this all-satisfying result for eternity—praise, glory and honour with Christ when he returns!

I mean, isn’t this what we long for? To be praised, glorified and honoured by the people around us regarding the work and accomplishments that we have done? Now, think about what Peter is saying here: our faith will be praised, glorified and honoured with Jesus at his return.

And Peter’s emphasis here is that the grievous God-given trials in this life make sure that your gold-tested faith may be found to result in glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ when He comes in glory!

As in, this glorious satisfaction comes when you see Jesus face to face  and he rewards your faith with the imperishable inheritance that God has been guarding through your faith—which Peter reiterates in chapter 5: “And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory (1 Peter 5:4).

Recap

So this is why Peter calls us to rejoice through trials. First, we rejoice in this bright future with a great inheritance that God is keeping for us and keeping us for—yet, we must rejoice through temporary, necessary, grievous and various God given trials that come in this earthly life because they are proving our faith to be genuine like fire tests gold, so that it might result in praise, glory and honour with Christ when he returns!

But what does this mean for us today? What does rejoicing through trials today look like? Let me suggest two points of application from this passage that I hope is helpful for us this today. The first one is Grieving, Yet Always Rejoicing.

D. Rejoicing Through Trials Today

I. Grieving, Yet Always Rejoicing

This is the experience of the apostle Paul when he describes the trials in his life and says that he is “sorrowful [same word for grieving], yet always rejoicing” (2 Cor. 6:10). This doesn’t mean that you have to laugh when your doctor tells you the bad news in his office. Nor does this mean that you remain absolutely stoic and paralyze your emotions when your reputation is slandered. Too many Christians today have a false or misdirected sense of grieving in trials.

But if God has deemed it necessary to grieve you with fiery trials to test your faith, then it doesn’t make sense to shallowly say “there’s a reason for everything,” or robotically say that “God is sovereign.” No—the sensible and appropriate Christian response is to grieve!

Cry out to God in lament (as we’ve been encouraged in the Psalms, how long?), because God is the one behind this—and his intention is to grieve you in such a way that makes your faith even more precious than gold and even stronger than gold that it becomes imperishable.

So when you grieve, remember that your tears are just for a little while compared to your coming salvation that is “ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:5) when “he will wipe away every tear from [your] eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore” (Revelation 21:4).

And when you grieve, never forget that these trials are doing something—every long night, every tear, and every trying moment is a faith builder, faith refiner and faith perfecter (Hebrews 12:2)—which will be brought to completion at the day of Christ (Philippians 1:6).

In grieving like this, you then are rejoicing through the trials because you know who is at work and what is on the other side. As we sang earlier, God gives unto each day what he deems best lovingly—its part of pain and pleasure. Grieving, yet always rejoicing.

And if we are rejoicing in light of that future hope and glory that results from our tested faith today, then the second application form this passage today is this: Don’t Look For Praise, Glory and Honour Today.

II. Don’t Look For Praise, Glory and Honour Today

The praise, honour and glory of your tested faith will be found when Jesus returns, so don’t go after the praise, glory and honour from people today—your job is to be found faithful by God, not man.

We cannot treat man’s praise and earthly glory as if that is the end goal. So remember Peter’s words when he says that our proven faith is more precious than the most valuable commodity on earth and that it will not perish when you find that you keep longing for this praise in your workplaces, glory in your accomplishments, or honour from mere human beings that bring temporary joy in this life.

This applies even to the good things that we do in the faith. Not that we can’t be encouraged, but watch for that sneaky temptation that makes you long for that praise and commendation by other Christians because of what you do for Jesus (notice even the misfire there in regards to who you’re doing it for and who you get approval from).

Just imagine how much joy you receive when someone you really look up to tells you “good job” and gives you a reward—multiply that by infinity and that’s how you will feel when you are commended by Jesus on the last day: “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little [in your earthly life]; I will set you over much [in your eternal life]. Enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:21, 23).