Faith Proved Genuine

Faith Proved Genuine

Be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though it is necessary for you to endure many trials for a while. These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold. –1 Peter 1:6-7

Why is it that over and over again the biblical writers suggest that we have joy in the midst of suffering? What could make you or me joyful when our worst nightmare becomes our reality? The joy is in finding out that faith works. The joy is in discovering that when the rubber hits the road, the faith you have given lip service to is now put into action. It is the joy of discovering that your faith is genuine—the real deal.

To experience this joy of knowing your faith is genuine, it must be put to the test. When we think about a test, most of us think about the kind of test in which you can either pass or fail. But this is different.

Recently, my car died after twelve years of faithful service, so we went to various dealers and took cars for test drives. Were we looking to see if the car passed or failed? No. We were allowing the car to show us how it works and what it feels like, to demonstrate how it operates. The car was put to the test—not in an effort to see if it would pass or fail, but so it could show us its stuff! When God puts us to the test, he is giving us the opportunity to experience and demonstrate what it is like to live out our faith in the most difficult of circumstances. It is the chance to live what we say we believe.

When a friend of mine was recently let go from her high-profile job, I shared the above verses from 1 Peter with her. “It is like you are on a stage and the curtain has been pulled back and now the world will see if your faith is for real,” I told her. It is in the midst of suffering, when we choose to trust instead of fear, that we reveal genuine faith. To accept rather than complain. To forgive rather than seek revenge. To choose humility instead of proving we were right. The curtain is pulled back and we have the opportunity for our faith to be proved genuine.

Faith Revealer, how I long to know the joy of being tested by you and having my faith proved genuine. Test me so I can show the world that faith in you works.

DIGGING DEEPER