Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you.
1 Peter 4:12
18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first… 20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.”
John 15:18,20
13 Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world. 14 If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you.
1 Peter 4:13,14
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6 So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many (various) trials for a little while. 7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
1 Peter 1;6,7
• Trials aren’t mean to take strength
“God speaks to men in many experiences of life, and not least in those which try their hearts and souls. But we can hear his voice only when we accept in reverence that comes to us. If we accept it with resentment, the rebellious cries of our own heart make us deaf to the voice of God.” —William Barclay, NT Theologian
Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered.
Hebrews 5:8
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
James 1:2,3
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
• Our greatest
5…“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 6 So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. 7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
1 Peter 5:5-7
In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.
1 Peter 5:10
17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
2 Corinthians 4:17,18
“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33