Good morning! My name is Dana Rance and I was asked to give you a devotional thought from the book of 1 Peter 1-3.
KEY VERSES:
1 Peter 1:6-7 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.
REFLECTIONS:
I read this first in my King James Bible and the verse popped out at me. I wanted to get a better understanding, so I read it in a NIV Bible. The interesting thing was the King James used the word temptations while the NIV used trials. That led me in a new direction and got me thinking.
If you look temptations up in the dictionary, it says "something that entices". The definition of trials is "process of trying, or testing". It took me a while to figure out why two totally different words would be substituted for each other. I believe that during trials you are tempted to let your faith waiver.
We've all had trials and we've asked God "why me?" 1 Peter 6-7 pretty much sums it up for us. God gives us trials for different reasons. Sometimes He wants to see if we're tempted to turn from Him, or if we will turn to Him. Often times He wants us to learn something like patience, or understanding. Only God knows His reasons.
It's very difficult when we're going through a trial to think along these lines: but if we slow down and ask What is God trying to teach me?, we will be blessed with His wisdom. When we turn to Him, we are blessed with His comfort. We never realize it during the trial, but blessings often come from trials and temptations. It's these blessings of His comfort and knowing that His love is unconditional that are our rewards for the trials we went through.
When we make it through our trial or temptation, we praise God and thank Him for helping us through it. We know that all the glory and honor is His. We know we couldn't have made it through without God's help.
APPLICATION:
Let's together try to remember when we go through trials and temptations, to put our faith and trust in God so that when we get through the trial, all praise, honor and glory will be given to God who helped us.
Thank you for being a part of the 100-Day Challenge. Thanks for reading, and have a blessed day!
In Christ,
Dana Rance
Name: Dana Rance
Saved: At age 10, and rededicated my life to Christ around 8 years ago.Favorite Bible Character: Paul
Family: Husband James, "fur kids" (AKA dogs) Sweet Pea and Sallie
Occupation: Cat Scan Tech
Hobbies: Reading, crocheting, being with my family
Your ministry at church: Teach 2-3s and King's Kids 3-5
Favorite Book in Bible: The entire New Testament!