Don't Waste the Lessons Learned

1 Peter 1:6-7 ESV

 

“In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

 

This is speaking to those of us who have been crucified with Christ in death to sin, and who have been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, who have been delivered from our slavery to sin, and who are now walking according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh. We are those who by God-given faith in Jesus Christ have surrendered our lives to Christ and who, by God’s grace, and in his power, are walking in obedience to his commands, in practice. We have the hope of eternal life with God.

 

But as Christ’s followers, we are also promised that as we live with him that we will also suffer as he suffered. We will be hated and persecuted for righteousness’ sake, and for the name of Jesus, and for the sake of the truth of his gospel which Jesus taught and which his New Testament apostles taught. And we will go through trials and tribulations which will test our faith. And we will be falsely accused of things we did not do and we will be charged with crimes which we did not commit.

 

But this is not saying that we are perfect people and that we are never at fault for anything, for we are still human, and God is still working on us to make us more like him. But it is saying that we are those who are walking (in conduct, in practice) according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh, who are walking in holiness and in righteousness, in obedience to our Lord, in practice, and we are not those who are walking in sin, doing what is evil in God’s sight deliberately and habitually.

 

Now the Lord Jesus allows us to go through trials and tribulations which test our faith so that we can see if our faith is genuine or not, or if it is weak in certain areas and it needs to be strengthened. I know that when I go through trials that it causes me to examine my own heart and mind more closely and to seek God’s face to see if there is any wicked way in me that needs to be cleansed out of my life. For the trials help me to focus more on my walk of faith and to help me make sure I am walking as I ought to walk.

 

So, trials are painful, and not usually pleasant, but they can reap good results in our lives if we will let them, and if we will learn from them what we ought not to be doing and what we need to do more of, according to the will of God, and according to his purpose for our lives, and in his strength and power, as we yield more and more control of our lives over to the Lord and as we continue to obey his will. And the biggest thing for me is learning to trust him more and more in all the circumstances of my life.

 

For our Lord is still in control. He is still completely sovereign over everything that comes into our lives. So nothing can happen to us outside of ourselves that God does not allow, and that he does not allow with a purpose. For he has a plan and a purpose for everything he allows to come into our lives. And so we need to not resist him, but we need to yield to his will and purpose for our lives regardless of what is going on in our lives, i.e. regardless of things in our lives over which we have absolutely no control.

 

So, we need to grow in our walks of faith through what we suffer. And we need to learn the lessons we need to learn during these times, and we need to not let those lessons go to waste. And I am speaking to myself, too. For isn’t it so easy, once the trial is over, to resume business as usual? And I am not speaking here of deliberate and habitual sin, or even of sin at all. I am speaking of areas in our lives where we need to grow stronger in our walks of faith, so we need to be careful that we maintain what we learned.

 

And the whole purpose of this testing is not just so we grow stronger in our walks of faith and so we cut out of our lives whatever needs to go, and so we add into our lives what needs to be there in greater quantity and quality, but that all this should result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. For all that we do in this life, as followers of Christ, should be for his glory, honor, and praise. And it should be pleasing to him, for we are here on this earth to do what pleases our Lord and what is honoring to him.

 

[Matt 5:10-16; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Matt 28:18-20; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-19; John 15:1-21; Jn 16:33; Acts 1:8; Acts 14:22; Acts 26:18; Rom 5:3-5; Rom 12:1-8; 1 Co 12:1-31; 2 Co 1:3-11; Eph 4:1-16; Eph 5:17-27; Phil 3:7-11; Col 3:16; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; Heb 3:13; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 2:9; 1 Pet 4:12-17]

 

All The Way My Savior Leads Me

 

Lyrics by Frances J Crosby, pub. 1875

Music by Robert Lowry, pub. 1875

 

All the way my Savior leads me,

What have I to ask beside?

Can I doubt His tender mercy,

Who through life has been my Guide?

Heav’nly peace, divinest comfort,

Here by faith in Him to dwell!

For I know, whate’er befall me,

Jesus doeth all things well.

 

All the way my Savior leads me,

Cheers each winding path I tread,

Gives me grace for every trial,

Feeds me with the living Bread.

Though my weary steps may falter

And my soul athirst may be,

Gushing from the Rock before me,

Lo! A spring of joy I see.

 

All the way my Savior leads me,

Oh, the fullness of His love!

Perfect rest to me is promised

In my Father’s house above.

When my spirit, clothed immortal,

Wings its flight to realms of day

This my song through endless ages:

Jesus led me all the way.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWdmZGik1Jw

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