Trials

There is a scripture that he quotes in chapter 5 that has me thinking. I certainly must have passed over this a few times when reading scriptures, but it sounded brand new to me--
"Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing has happened unto you"

We understand that this life is a time for trials, for opposition. We know that, we teach that, we explain to our children that there are going to be things that come up that feel big and that we need to turn to prayer when those things come up--

AND YET, when a trial comes up in life, unfortunately, we often feel shock. We may tell ourselves that we have it harder than others and then we proceed to prove that line of reasoning in our heads. The counsel that is given is "think it not strange" when there is a fiery trial. Now, I don't know about you, but, the word fiery in front of trial indicates that it is much harder than a "daily" or "smoldering" or "spark" brand of trial. A fiery trial implies big, maybe too big to handle alone.

The rest of the scripture provides guidance in these situations: "but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings, that when his glory shall be revealed, you shall be glad also with exceeding joy." (1 Peter 4: 12-13)

So, it seems to me that a fiery trial is inevitable, and that, when we are in the midst of it, we should try rejoicing because we know that we have the capacity to draw closer to Christ and can partake of exceeding joy.

There are times in my life when I have felt like I was being tried-- right now, my biggest trial is living in a hotel room with 5 people--but the hotel room is in England, a maid comes in every day to tidy up and I had tea and scones (with clotted cream which sounds awful but is spectacular with jam) overlooking a river, watching swans. The goodness in my life is so obvious that the inconvenience (which is what I must honestly call it, as a trial seems a bit of a leap right now) is overshadowed by my perspective of the other good things that are happening.

There have certainly been things in my life that have dropped me to my knees in earnest prayer. During those times, I had a difficult time balancing and noticing my blessings. It seems that the counsel to "think it not strange" would help each of us when something comes along that is bigger than us. Trust God, trust His plan for you-- it is always better than you think it will be...