Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 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.
~1 Peter 1:3-7, ESV (emphasis mine)
Often, an efficiency of words prove to make or break the meaning and/or weightiness of an entire thought. But we no longer live in the luxury of an instant coffee or microwave society. After all, it takes at least three whole minutes (or sometimes longer) to microwave popcorn! Which is why we quickly lose interest and move on if anything we read, watch, or listen to takes longer than one minute.
Unfortunately, this very immature and dangerous lifestyle of living in the urgency of self-satisfaction and entertainment has entered the Church. This deeply grieves me. Every. Single. Day.
When we skim over the holy Scriptures, no longer reading carefully, studying prudently, or meditating lovingly on it, we complain and fret like the lost world. We easily miss one important word, or two (e.g., if necessary) that deepen our understanding of the entire passage.
Because God’s economy is perfect, He wastes nothing (Jn 6:12-13). And because “the LORD, the LORD, [is] a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Ex 34:6) He does not afflict us from His heart, but afflicts us always and only, because it was/is/will be, necessary for our eternal good—that we may be made like Christ—complete and lacking nothing good (cf. Ps 119:67, 71; Rom 5:3-4; Jas 1:2-4).
Below, is comforting and exhorting wisdom from and excerpt of Lewis Bayly’s (c. 1575-1631), The Practice of Piety of why God our Father allows and brings us to afflictions—that we will not be found to have wasted our lives, but rather, that our lives may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
“Meditations for the Sick
“1. That by afflictions God may not only correct our sins past, but also work in us a deeper loathing of our natural corruptions, and so prevent us from falling into many other sins which otherwise we would commit…
“2. God sends affliction to seal unto us our adoption, for “the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son. Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons [Heb 12:7-8, 11]…
“3. God sends affliction to wean our hearts from too much loving this world and worldly vanities; and to cause us the more earnestly to desire and long for eternal life…
“4. By affliction and sickness God exercises his children, and the graces which he bestows upon them. He refines and tries their faith, as the goldsmith does his gold in the furnace—to make it shine more glistening and brightly (1 Pet. 1:7;) he stirs us up to pray more diligently, and zealously, and proves what patience we have learned all this while in his school of affliction…
“5. God sends afflictions, to demonstrate to the world the trueness of his children’s love and service. Every hypocrite will serve God while he prospers and blesses him, as the devil falsely accused Job to have done: but who (but his loving child) will love and serve him in adversity…
“6. Sanctified affliction is a singular help to further our true conversion, and to drive us home by repentance to our heavenly Father…
“7. Affliction works in us pity and compassion toward our fellow-brethren that are in distress and misery; whereby we learn to have a fellow-feeling of their calamities, and to condole their estate, as if we suffered with them (Heb 13:3). And for this cause Christ himself would suffer, and be tempted in all things like unto us (sin only excepted) that he might be a merciful High Priest, touched with the feeling of our infirmities (Heb 4:15; Heb 2:18; Heb 5:8-9)…
“8. God uses our sicknesses and afflictions as means and examples both to manifest to others the faith and virtues which he has bestowed upon us, as also to strengthen those who have not received so great a measure of faith as we…
“9. By afflictions God makes us conformable to the image of Christ his Son (Rom 8:18; 1 Pet 4:14), who being the captain of our salvation, was made perfect through sufferings (Heb 2:10) And therefore he first bore the cross in shame, before he was crowned with glory (Heb 2:7)…
“10. Lastly, that the godly may be humbled in respect of their own state and misery; and God glorified by delivering them out of their troubles and afflictions, when they call upon him for his help and support…”
For further comfort and encouragement from the LORD himself, read these Scriptures and the entire chapter that each are found in: 1 Peter 1:3-7; Isaiah 30:18; Lamentations 3:31-33; Psalm 119:67, 71, Philippians 4:16-18.
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