We read the Scripture passage of 1Peter 1:3-9 in our online service this week. What hit my heart anew was verse seven: 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.
I always took that to be somewhat apocalyptic. But today I see it in a new way.
They say hindsight is 20/20. I often do not see Jesus moving in my life until after the fact. Perhaps I am concentrating too much on the “now” to see the eternal. But suddenly the light dawns and I see He was there all along, steadily working out His plan in the background. I see how He purposes good from what seemed distressful and even evil, like the proverbial silver lining at the end of a storm. Then I “give thanks in all circumstances”, as Paul reminds us to do in 1Thessalonains 5:18.
What we are living through now definitely fits the definition of a trial by fire. Perhaps during this time, we are being purified by God’s holy furnace. The dross of our modern world, which once captured our attention, is melting away. We are hopefully drawing closer to God and, even though we can’t be physically together, we are more together because we realize how important our friends and family are and we miss them so dearly. Our values have been readjusted.
My prayer is that during this time, Jesus will be revealed in your heart, mind, and soul. I pray you will, by your testimony of the “great things He hath done”, reveal Him to others who so desperately need to “see” Him revealed in their lives. Especially now.
May we all give Him the praise, glory, and honor.
Where Did You Find God Today? 
You are so right, Julie. For once in a very long time, God has deployed the church. No longer clustering together in the sanctuary, but brought back to the center of what God created before His church was established…the home…the family…and friends who seem like family.
The gospel of Jesus Christ is going out over the internet and reaching millions of people each day. Easter Sunday at our church alone thousands upon thousands of people worshiped and 7,000 people raised their hands to receive Christ as Savior and received counseling and referring. That’s people from all over the world. God indeed works ALL things together for our good and His glory…even, or should I say, especially what we’ve deemed to be disaster.
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