"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." 1 Peter 1:7.
Sometimes we feel abandoned by God when we are being refined by fire. But Peter encouraged first century Christians to embrace a positive truth that could help them endure. Nobody enjoys suffering when we are going through it. But while we are in the throes of despair, as long as we maintain our faith in Jesus, we can know that we have hope. If you endure strife with your faith intact, your perseverance can reassure you that your faith is true and that you have a glorious future awaiting you. Even if you are facing a type of suffering that will plague you for the remainder of this life, at least you know that there is an end in sight because this life is not all that there is. Without faith in Christ, suffering would truly be cause for despondency because life-long suffering would be existence-long suffering.
Thankfully, in Christ this is not the case. Most of the harships we face are temporary in nature. For some people, though, there is no end in sight within this earthly existence. Even these people, though, can find some degree of solace in Jesus, a solace that this world cannot offer them.
God bless you all.
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