THINK IT NOT STRANGE!

Picture this: you’re in a room full of people who are dying, but they don’t know it. Your heart cries out, and you do everything in your power to help them: You get them to the emergency room, you get them to a doctor, you sit with them and comfort them, and anything else you can possibly think of to help these people before you… and they despise you for it. They mock you, they spit at you, they hate you. 

How in the world could that ever happen? All you’ve done is give yourself for their needs!

And if you’ve already caught on, you’re probably now at this thought: Jesus was in this very position (and was treated far worse), along with many others who followed after God. 

But what does that mean for us?

1 Peter 4:12-13“Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.”

The scripture clearly connects us to Christ’s sufferings - not that He enjoys it when we do suffer, but He surely enjoys it when we are made STRONG and GROW in the face of adversity!

2 Timothy 3:11-12“Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. 12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”

The very first person I thought of as one of the greatest examples of being tried - is Jeremiah. This man of God gave EVERYTHING to do God’s Will… yet he suffered so greatly. So what does that say about Him?

Was he doing something wrong?

Was he not on the right path?

Did he mishear God?

Of course the answer to all of these things is NO! He was exactly where he was supposed to be. 

Jeremiah 20:8-9“Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the Lord has brought me insult and reproach all day long. 9 But if I say, “I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.”

Jeremiah faced great persecution in his day - yet the fire of God was ALIVE within him, so that he couldn’t bear the thought of not continuing on the journey God set him on. 

Another man who faced great tribulation and a fiery trial is Job. He lost EVERYTHING (and to no fault of his own), yet never gave up on God - nor did he ever blame Him.

Job 1:21-22 “And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. 22 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.”

What about Joseph? His own family betrayed him by selling him into slavery. He ended up successful during this captivity, but before long, he ended up in prison for years for a crime he never committed! 

Was he doing something wrong?

Was he not on the right path?

Did he mishear God?

Again, the answer to all of these things is NO! He was exactly where he was supposed to be. 

Because after it was all over, Joseph would be the one to save the very brothers who betrayed him - and even more than them, the entire house of Jacob which would ultimately keep the future tribes of Israel alive.

There are MANY more examples in the Old and New Testament of people who go through the fiery trial… that they may be a testimony and an example for our use. 

Hebrews 12:1-2 “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

All the examples of those who went through trials and tribulations have something in common: they DID NOT THINK IT STRANGE! They carried on in the faith and love for God. They did not stop running the race!

1 Peter 1:6-9“Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: 7 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: 8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.”

The trials we face today are nothing in comparison to the joy we will see in heaven. They are a necessary tool for purifying - that we may come out as pure gold!! These trials are not an accident, but part of the Christian life. 

1 Thessalonians 3:2-4“And sent Timotheus, our brother, and minister of God, and our fellow labourers in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith: 3 That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto. 4 For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know. 

SO THINK IT NOT STRANGE, MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS! The wars you face today- whether that be persecution, temptation, wars in your mind, etc. are not hidden from God. HE is on your side, and He will carry you! These trials will strengthen you if you let them. 

And above all else, know that you are never alone.