Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a day in the open sea. 2 Corinthians 11:24-25
One of the strange things about trials is that whether they knock at the door of your heart or sneak through the back door of your life, you never really expect them. Yes, you know other people face them, but you don’t think about facing them yourself. So, when you do go into combat with them, you also feel that no one else has ever faced the same intensity of testing, nor do they understand what you’re going through.
The Greek word translated “testing” has two meanings: (1) A trial which comes from without, and (2) A temptation or a solicitation to do wrong which comes from within.
Long ago, Paul warned against presumptuousness—thinking that you are immune from trials; and he went on to assure us that when we face periods of difficulty, God will take us through them. You find those words of counsel in 1 Corinthians 10. Here it is: “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”
Throughout the New Testament you find a common theme: periods of testing and difficulty come to all of God’s children. The only question is when and what kind. They are neither an indication that you have been abandoned by God or selected as a target for a Satanic attack. It is simply the result of living in an imperfect, broken world, a world which is hostile to the values of God’s children.
Now, Peter addressed this whole issue when he wrote to suffering brothers and sisters in Rome and he said our response should be threefold: First, we should rejoice, no matter how strange that logic is, because, said Peter, we share in the suffering and the glory of Jesus Christ. Then he wrote that we should commit ourselves to the loving watch-care of the Father and continue doing what you know is right. Let’s take a closer look at that advice.
“Dear friends,” wrote Peter, “don’t be surprised at the painful trials you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the suffering of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed” (1 Peter 4:12-13).
Following rejoicing, Peter says, (and these are my words), “Run up your flag and commit yourself to the watch-care of the Father!” There are times when you’re telling the truth and you are accused of lying—misinformation is now the more acceptable word. You are abiding by your conscience, and your friends suggest that you have sold out and you’re compromising. Even your friends misunderstand you. So, Peter says, “Commit yourself to the Father, who knows your heart and will write the last chapter.”
Then he says, “Don’t give up and quit!” Rather, he says you are to continue doing the right thing. Here are his words: “So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good” (1 Peter 4:19).
Friend, when you are falsely accused and misunderstood, you’re forced to look within and ask yourself, “Hey, for whom am I doing this? For the glory of God, or for the plaudits and gratitude of other people? Have I chosen to please people, or God?” And when you work through that, you will have a motive for doing the right thing.
“If you suffer as a Christian,” writes Peter, “don’t be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name” (1 Peter 4:16). What name? The name Christian! Today that name is yet used, as it was the first time when it was applied to believers, as a term of derision. Hang in there, friend, you have good company.
Resource reading: 2 Corinthians 10:1-6
