Pastor’s Pen Pulpit

November 6, 2005

WHEN THROUGH FIERY TRIALS

I Peter 4:12,13

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing; so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation.

And he commanded certain valiant warriors who were in his army to tie up Sadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, in order to cast them into the furnace of blazing fire. Then these men were tied up in their trousers, their coats, their caps and their other clothes, and were cast into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire (Daniel 3:20,21)

How many fiery trials have you passed through in the past year? How does the child of God handle fiery ordeals or unpleasant situations? We will consider two major points:

EXPECT fiery ordeals. Because of your relationship with Jesus Christ, you can expect that the road will be tough at times; that things will come along to disrupt your well laid plans. Peter tells us not to be surprised when these challenges pop up. Don’t think something strange has happened to you.

Do we often go to pieces when something unusual comes our way? Why? Because we don’t expect it. We have our life all planned out. However, we sometimes forget who we belong to.

How about unbelievers in like situations? They learn how to cope – but they lack the insight and hope that we as believers have in Christ. This brings us to our second point.

EXULT in your fiery ordeal. “But to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing so that at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation.”

Trials for believers carry a future benefit. Peter says to rejoice to the degree that you suffer. Why? The return of Christ in all His glory will cause our joy to be greatly magnified. The greater the degree of suffering with the Lord Jesus Christ down here, the greater will be the degree of our rejoicing with Him in glory. This is the way He has ordained it.

The third verse of HOW FIRM A FOUNDATION is appropriate at this point:

When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie, My grace all sufficient shall be thy supply. The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.

In Daniel chapter three, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego were about to be put to the fiery test. However when commanded to bow down and worship the golden image they said these words to King Nebuchadnezzar:

“Oh Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this. If it be so our God whom we serve is able to to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire, and He will deliver us out of your hand, O King. But even if He does not, let it be known to you O king, that that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

These three men had devoted ther lives to building a trusting relationhip with their God. They had seen Him work in their behalf

before. So when the really tough time came to them they were able to continue right on trusting God to keep them as He had done before.

Beloved, what is your fiery trial? What has your Savior called you to pass through? It may be that you are in the midst of it right now as you read this pen pulpit. Let’s not be surprised at what we’re going through. Rather, let us rejoice in knowing that He is with us every step of the way and that ultimately our joy will be magnified when we see our precious Lord coming in all of His glory. God bless and keep on trusting!