Have you been surprised by something strange recently? Peter says not to be surprised at the fiery ordeal among us, the fiery trials that come upon us to test us, as though some strange thing is happening to us (I Pet. 4:12). Yet we realize why he warned us not to be surprised because it seems that is always our tendency. “What’s going on?” we cry. “Where did this come from?”

No one likes hard times. And life can sometimes be quite challenging, even for Christians. Peter goes on to say that we should rejoice to the degree that we share the sufferings of Christ, in other words, being reviled for the name of Jesus, persecuted for righteousness sake (I Pet. 4:13-16). And indeed, when we are walking in the perfect will of God, this is the only kind of suffering that we should endure. After all, Jesus’ sacrifice of 33 and a half years included every kind of suffering that Satan brings upon us such as sickness, rejection, the result of curses, including the curse of poverty on the last day of His life. He was a substitutionary sacrifice for us. He suffered in our place so we don’t have to suffer these attacks of Satan. The reality, however, is that we do not always walk in God’s perfect will. Sometimes we suffer because of a lack of knowledge.

One of our pastors in Africa just lost his daughter in death. This is one of the greatest trials parents can face. But God’s promise is that no test will be too great for us to bear because He is always with us (I Cor. 10:13). Even when we find ourselves obliged to walk for a spell through the valley of the shadow of death, we can reach out for the hand of our Shepherd Jesus to lead us through that valley. His rod and His staff do indeed comfort us (Psalm 23). No matter what we go through, He promised that He would always be there as Yahovah Shammah. He would never leave us or forsake us, even when it seemed like He did (Heb. 13:5).

It is in those times of fiery trials that we realize that our God who is Love is more concerned with our holy character that will last forever than with the ease we may experience in a trouble-free life. Not that He brings the fire upon us directly. Satan does that. But God is the overall orchestrator of the process of purification that results. Even Jesus Learned Through Suffering

Here is where we come to the gist of this message — the concept of holiness by fire. And we must not say that fiery trials only come to the imperfect. Jesus never sinned. Yet He grew up as a young child who needed to grow in His Father’s character of love. The Word says: “Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek” (Heb. 5:8-10). While the joy of Jesus was without a doubt in Jesus Himself, He was also called a man of suffering or a “man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isa. 63:3). He went through every type of trial we face in order to be a compassionate Intercessor or Go-between with our Father in heaven (Heb.4:14-15). He knows. He knows exactly what we’re going through. He is interceding for us every step of the way. And the Holy Spirit is the One our “Father of mercies and God of all comfort” (II Cor. 1:3) sent to go alongside us to comfort and encourage us (John 14:26). Jesus is the Word, and He has a part as well. He holds our hand and like a faithful Shepherd gives us a place to rest in green pastures even in the midst of the valley of trial. Jesus’ Word is always there. There is a verse for every hurt, every trial, “so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” And as this verse continues in Romans 15:4-5, “Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus.”    [Continued ...]