Sunday Bun
by
L. A. Marzulli
Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 1 Peter 4:12
I wonder how many of us cringe when we read the above verse? Does it make us uncomfortable when we read about fiery trials coming our way? Do we faint and grow weary in the day of adversity, or do we stand our ground and wait on the Lord knowing our salvation comes from Him?
Notice that Peter is informing us that these fiery trials are going to come and when they do they should not be looked at as a unique event or as Peter states: some strange thing.
In other words, trials are part and parcel of the Christian walk. We should expect them but also know that The Lord will provide a way out, a landing-place, for He is our high tower, a shield about us, our help in time of trouble.
There is an expression I coined several years ago and I think it was introduced here on the Sunday Bun.
Every Christian will spend time in the forge of the living God. We will be heated up and then placed on His anvil and pounded into a new shape… then cooled off. In other words, we should expect to be re-shaped by The Spirit of the Living God.
Every Christian I know spends time on the anvil in the forge of the living God. It’s part of the process and without it, we would remain stagnant and dead in the way we used to live before salvation.
Truly we become new creatures in Christ!
When trials come our way, there are some very practical strategies we can employ. The first is acknowledging that we are in a trial. In other words, pinpoint what is going on and look it dead in the eye!
The second strategy is calling what is happening out by name. Here’s what I mean. We are being attacked in our finances. There is sickness in our family. Someone is slandering us. Someone is spreading lies about us. I am being singled out at work for no reason. I am being persecuted for my faith.
The list is almost endless but by calling out the trial, by recognizing it we then can begin to warfare against it, which is the third strategy.
We are told that our weapons are not carnal but spiritual. In other words, we put on the armor of God that we read about in Ephesians 6. We pray and believe we already have the victory in Jesus. We stand and hold our ground. We can fast. We can play worship music. We can double up on our devotion time, reading scripture.
Finally, we can rest in The Lord. Be still and know that He is God. Rest in Him in the midst of the storm knowing that He is in control, even when it doesn’t look that way.
Are you going through a trial? Know that nothing that can happen takes Jesus by surprise. Claim the victory and stand!
