“Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:6-7).
Whether you are facing persecution or any other test of your faith, William Barclay states three reasons Peter gave that would help people endure any fiery trial. I won’t go into elaborate detail, but rather just hit the highlights. First, “they can stand anything that comes because of what they are able to look forward to. Second, they can stand anything that comes if they remember that every trial is, in fact, a test. Third, they can stand anything because at the end of it, when Jesus Christ appears, they will receive from him, praise and glory and honour.”
Our study writer notes, “First Peter 1:7 speaks of this refining process. Like gold purified through fire, the genuineness of Christianity shines through trials.”
Sue Winchester
Missouri
PRAY TOGETHER: Pray for persecuted believers in the nations of Sudan, Somalia and Eritrea, who continue to be “tried by fire.”
