By: Yonas

“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.”

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭1‬:‭7‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Why does the testing of our faith end with praise, glory, and honor to Jesus Christ? Let’s break this down-Faith in the Lord Jesus shows itself in the way of Hope and  Peace in all circumstances. Life in no doubt brings challenges, or to more precisely say it, the sovereign God will bring trials and challenges in our lives to show us and the world where our Hope and Peace lie. Jesus said in John 14:27 The peace that he gives us is not as the world gives. That means our peace is not based on circumstances, as the world is. It is based on the eternal hope of who he is. He gives us Himself as the source of peace. Our peace cannot perish because He cannot perish. Our peace cannot be taken from us because no one can take Him from us. We have a living hope and one that is eternal because He lives on forever in eternity. We have a firm foundation and one that cannot be shaken because He stands firm and unshakable. Everything that we hope and stand on is found in Him alone. 

As Christians, we must remember that faith is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9) and not our own doing, and as Paul reminds us in Romans 11:29, all of God’s gifts and calling are Irrevocable. If He has given it, then He will sustain it, so what that means when trials come our way as they inevitably will, that God the Holy Spirit will prove and manifest our Hope and Peace to the world by keeping us united to Christ through the storm. In other words, the trials are not meant for you to show your strength but for God to show His through you. God has chosen to show His strength through weak and feeble vessels such as ourselves. God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9) because our weakness more clearly shows that God alone holds true power. 

Why do we see so often in the New Testament verses that talk about rejoicing in our suffering or early Churches like the Thessalonians being commanded by Paul for their Joy in the suffering (1 Thessalonians 1:6) ? (Romans 5:3-5, James 1:2-4, and 1 Peter 6-17) because it is a revelation of the assurance of God’s salvation of our souls through Him, sustaining our faith and Hope in Christ alone. This is seen in the unquenchable joy we are able to exhibit through it by the Holy Spirit. 

If salvation truly is a precious gift to us, then our trials become a precious gift to us as well. Trials become a way of seeing tangible reality that has not yet been fully unveiled. When we see the strength of God sustaining us, then that is a physical sign not just of Him accomplishing His promises by sustaining us through the storm, but He also gives us the assurance of the greater promise of salvation. 

The trials become a way that our faith gets stronger because it will prove to us that He is truly the one who is holding us together to accomplish His promises. As we live and go through various trials, this reality becomes clearer and clearer until that reality becomes evident physically through us standing in the presence of Christ. That’s why the Bible makes it clear that He will deliver us from all of our trials (2 Timothy 4:18). There is no room for failure because He cannot fail. His strength will never fail us. This is the Hope that we must hold on to. 

This is the fundamentals. This is basic Christianity that all believers must be taught, and is something that scripture time and time again makes clear. In order for us to stand out as the Church and salt and light to this dark and perverse world, we must get this truth deep within our hearts. We must not lessen the standard to accommodate false assurances and to demonstrate false strength. Let God be proven true and every man a liar. We must not rush to declare our victory over our trials for the honor of man when we should wait on Him to vindicate us. Let God’s strength be made perfect in your weakness. 

This is why it ends with Praise, Honor, and glory of Christ Jesus. He has proven it before, and he will prove it again. He is the author and sustainer of our faith.