Tough Times

It’s not always how we act, but how we react, that tattles on what controls us.

You don’t always find out exactly what’s in toothpaste tube until you squeeze it.

Your character is often revealed in dealing with challenging situations.

It takes a crucible to separate the dross from the gold.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. – James 1:2-4

 

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. – 1 Peter 1:3-9

True or False: Bad Things Happen, God Is Dead

false

13. Romans 5:3-5 and James 1:2-4 state that trials are for a believer’s good. In a brief paragraph, describe how you would explain this spiritual truth to someone who has lost hope in an extremely difficult trial.

Gold is not naturally purified. It takes a lot of heat to melt it so the dross separates and can be scraped off the top. The gold may not find the heat to be at all comfortable, but that’s because it doesn’t have the bigger perspective. God is purifying us, and He uses difficult trials to accomplish a great purity in us; if we persist in faithfulness, he will grow us to maturity–a new creation in which Love is fully formed!