There’s this girl I know. She grew up in a big family. Very Typical. Very Busy. She grew up outside of the church with a faint idea of who Jesus was. As a teenager, she attended youth group and became a believer. Her family rejected this new life of hers, finding the Bible to be stupid and following God to be pointless. When she became a believer she was at rock bottom. Battling multiple eating disorders, depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts and attempts, cutting, and she’d drink. She was 15 years old. She had no one she trusted and her family wasn’t there for her. She wanted things to change. That is when she discovered the love of Christ and put her life in God’s hands. She had faith that He would help her. That’s what I want to talk about today, the power of faith, especially through the hard times.
The verses I want to talk about come from 1 Peter chapter 1. They were written by Peter to comfort those struggling through trials, encouraging them to have faith while they are working through them.
1 Peter 1: 6-7 says, In all 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 the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
Don’t just rejoice, but greatly rejoice. Why? Because Christ will be revealed through your trials. Your faith will grow. The footnotes in my Bible say “such trials do not create faith; they reveal what is already there.” The verse says that your faith is greater worth than gold. In those times gold was the most precious of metals. It perished in fire, but your faith does not. Trials are temporary. You will get through your trials with Jesus there to help you. Through that process your faith will be refined and proved genuine.
Peter continues on in verses 8 and 9 to say, Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
We are saved. Forgiven. Sins forgotten. And as if that weren’t enough, Jesus is with us through our trials, to the point where we are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy. Like verse 8 says, though you have not seen him, you love him. Faith. Even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy. That’s Faith. Have faith and you are saved. Have faith and you will get through it. Have Faith. Jesus dies for your sins, He isn’t going to leave you now.
Mother Teresa said, “God will never, never let us down if we have faith and put our trust in Him. He will always look after us.”
So. About this girl I was talking about earlier. Though she struggled to find happiness, she did indeed find it. She found a church to call home. She found a family in that church where she got very involved. She is healthy and making the right choices. She chose to live God’s way and found happiness in His plan with her life. She is going to become a Children’s Pastor. Though things are far from perfect, she has had faith that God will help her through it. How do I know this, you ask? That girl? She’s me.
sweet :) good verse.
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