1 Peter 1:3-7 The Message 3-5 What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you’ll have it all—life healed and whole.
6-7 I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it’s your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory.
What an uplifting word today! I can sit here and pull out all the wonderful things mentioned in these verses; words and phrases like “fortunate”, “brand-new life”, “have everything to live for”, “future in heaven”, “life healed and whole”, “proved pure” and “proved genuine”! I can’t help but smile and know that today is a new day that I get to try life all over again, living and working for His Victory (vs. 7)!
There have been times in my life when each of these things have been the source of a fresh perspective on my faith.
Last month I was beating myself up over something that I feel is missing in my life, but when I looked at everything I have around me, I realized how fortunate I am! How can I even try to discount all of my blessings for just one thing that I feel is missing? Jesus knows that I’m not missing anything in my life, I have everything I need right now, and then some!
Yesterday I messed up and those thoughts are haunting me today but “we’ve been given a brand-new life” DAILY! It’s the easiest thing to do you know, dwell in thoughts of our past sins, mistakes, things that broke us. But He heals us and makes us whole every moment. We don’t need to think about those moments because He doesn’t!
There have been times when I didn’t feel life was worth living (more times than I’d like to admit), yet here we are reminded why we’re here and that we “have everything to live for”! Maybe you’re like me, struggling to figure out your purpose in this world, but be patient and listen for Him to nudge you in the right direction. There is a Reason for you!
We’re reminded in verse 6 that life isn’t easy, “I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime”. Life is tough, it’s irritating, it’s full of pain, heartache, disappointment and aggravation, but it’s worth it! Remember “it’s your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of His Victory”. So don’t beat yourself up my friend! He is working you to be proved pure and proved genuine.
Lord, thank you for loving me and for never giving up on what You see in me. Keep negative thoughts out of my mind today as I bask in Your blessings and Your glory. In Jesus name, Amen.
What sticks out the most to you today? Which one of these power words or phrases resonates in your heart?
Toni