March 16 ~ 1 Peter 1:6-7
So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Once in a while, we crave a good steak. There is a restaurant in our town that specializes in steaks…and I have never been disappointed with a meal there. The meat is flavorful and tender…and while the “steak dinner” is pricey…the occasional treat is worth it! I don’t know how they prepare their steaks, but they have it down to a science! At home, I’ve learned that the secret to cooking tender beef, pork and chicken often lies in slow cooking. A chicken breast cooked quickly in just oil, salt and pepper may be filling…but it can also be dry and rather run-of-the-mill. The same cut of meat cooked in a slow cooker for several hours with a few seasonings can be melt-in-your-mouth tender and delectable. This goes for beef roasts and pork ribs, too.
It might seem like cooking meat for hours would be “cooking the life out of it” - and actually make it tough and hard to eat. But in truth, the exact opposite is true. The meat tenderizes and becomes saturated with flavor…and the end result is delicious and savory.
Peter uses the heat and purification of gold to demonstrate the trials of a Christian’s life. I am using a cooking analogy. Think of the tests and trials of your life like slow-cooking a beef roast. The meat is still edible if cooked quickly…just as you may feel you were getting along perfectly fine in life without troubles and challenges. But someday, you will look back at all you endured, and you will see that God was infusing you with “flavor”…character, strength, courage – and faith. He was “tenderizing” you…making your heart softer to His voice and to the needs and challenges of others. You will discover that God was refining one of His children into a person of incredible integrity, witness, and testimony…someone who could truly demonstrate the love and teachings of Christ to others.
We are all tempted to ask, “Why is this happening to me?” We want to question, “When will it be enough, LORD?” We wonder whether God has forgotten us. But the truth is that God knows everything that is happening…and He is right there in the trenches with us. He will never leave us to stumble around and flail in confusion and despair – even if that is how it seems. He will use the time in which we experience difficulties to develop our Christian “flavor and tenderness” – if only we will let Him.
Today during our Burger King® lunch, Zola was trying to eat some ice cream. At almost three years of age, she is very strong-willed and independent. The ice cream was all over her face, hands, and even on the front of her coat and her sleeve. I tried to help her, and she wrestled with me for possession of the spoon. I explained that I was not planning to feed her…I just wanted to clean up the mess and put a reasonable “bite” of ice cream on the spoon for her – then she could do the rest. In The Purpose Driven Life, Pastor Rick Warren says that our pain is often God’s megaphone. In other words, while we are so intent on having things our way or wallowing in our suffering and frustration, He is saying, “Let me have the spoon for a minute, and I’ll help you out of this mess!”
Where is God molding and refining you? How is He shaping you for ministry…equipping you to share His love and compassion with others? Where is He trying to direct your efforts, while you effectively “grip the spoon” and try to do things all by yourself? Are you staying in communication with God – even when you feel like He has deserted you? Are you listening to His voice – even when things get rough?
Are you willing to settle for the mediocrity of a “quick-fired” effort…or are you willing to endure the “slow-cooking” needed to truly tenderize your heart? Do you trust that God knows what He is doing…and that better days and brighter outcomes are ahead? Are you operating in faith that joyful days await those whom God tests and refines? Will you be one of them?
©2014 Debbie Robus
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