New Frame of Reference

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"Year of the Bible" Q&As and Pastor's Reflection

And here's the question of the day:
Ezekiel compares Israel’s mother to what? (Ezek 19)

And here's the reflection of the day:
1 Peter 1:6-7 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith-- of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-- may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

I try to keep my antennae up during these "Year of the Bible" readings for something that would be good to reflect on or to preach on. I especially take note when I see the words "trial" or "grief" or "difficulty." When people are going through trials or grief or difficulty they are most open to hearing God's Word of hope. So I try to keep a list of comforting Scriptures passages I can pull out at a moment's notice.

So of course 1 Peter 1 caught my attention right away with the phrase "may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials." (That's a goldmine for the keywords I read for!)

What I like most about this passage is the way it provides a frame of reference for the trials. It tells us the kinds of things we need to think about in the non-difficult times. So often we get sucked down so far into our pain that we lose perspective. But this passage teaches us to find purpose in our pain. These are the kinds of things we need to reflect on in between the painful times . . . or even to help us to reflect back over a painful time.

Ultimately, our pain can strengthen our faith, though that's something we probably only think about AFTER the pain has passed. And if we do it right, our increased faith should result in bringing praise and glory and honor to Jesus.

If we can keep these things in mind the next time we run into "trials" or "difficulty," then I think it will help us to find purpose in our pain and help us to cope. It takes the focus off our own our misery and puts it on God. And it will help us to achieve our main purpose in life: to glorify God with our whole lives!