Today we will bring to conclusion this series of meditations on “the
trial of your faith,” God willing.
When undergoing a hardship, we often fantasize of a miraculous
deliverance. Wouldn’t that make people
believe, we think. And, to be sure, Scripture indeed records accounts of those
who received miraculous deliverance from suffering. But this did not always make believers out of
people. Israel in the wilderness experienced many miraculous deliverances and
yet perished in that wilderness because of unbelief. Jesus wrought many miraculous deliverances
and the world crucified Him. In the
light of this, we would do well to focus on the several accounts given in Scripture
of those who received no miraculous deliverance from their tribulation in this life. And notice that prepositional phrase in
italics, in this life. I’ll come back to that. But of those who received
no miraculous deliverance we read this:
Hebrews 11:35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and
others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a
better resurrection:
36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea,
moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were
slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being
destitute, afflicted, tormented;
38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts,
and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith,
received not the promise:
40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they
without us should not be made perfect.
We think of miraculous deliverances
as mighty works of God, and indeed they are.
But we also need to realize that a faith that manifests itself in the
midst of suffering without a miraculous deliverance is also a mighty work of
God. That these saints held fast to
their holy faith in such afflictions as these was attributable to the mighty
working of God in them. You see, it
takes the glorious power of God for us to patiently bear our trials as we see
in Paul’s prayer for the believers at Colosse.
Colossians 1:11 Strengthened with all might, according to his
glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness….
Those patient saints noted in Hebrews
were strengthened with all might according to the glorious power of God. Now that is a mighty work! It is humbling to realize that it takes that
kind of power for us to be patient. And
then Paul prayed this for the Thessalonian believers who were undergoing
persecution:
2
Thessalonians 1:11 Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God
would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his
goodness, and the work of faith with power….
You show me the work of faith, and I
will show you the power of God. And when
God is fulfilling in you “the work of faith with power,” He is counting you
worthy of His calling to eternal glory.
Can you think of anything you would rather be counted worthy of?
And that brings us back to those suffering
saints we read of in Hebrews 11. In the
midst of all that they suffered, they “obtained a good report through faith”
even though they had not as yet received the promise. They kept their sights on the future glory that
God promised would be theirs and this sustained them through their present
hardships. Although they did not receive
a miraculous deliverance in this life,
they knew that such a deliverance awaited them in the next life.
2 Corinthians 4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a
moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the
things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the
things which are not seen are eternal.
When we are too focused on what we
see in this world in the way of suffering and what would relieve it, we can be
overwhelmed by our tribulation. But when
we focus on the great unseen things promised to those who love the Lord, then
that puts the present tribulation into perspective and makes it more
supportable. This was the key to the
great endurance of the suffering saints mentioned in Hebrews.
It all comes down to which you would
rather have. Would you rather have temporary
suffering in this life with everlasting pleasure in the next life, or pleasure
in this life with everlasting suffering in the next? Consider what our Lord Jesus had to say about
this:
Luke 6:20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said,
Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled.
Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.
22 Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall
separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name
as evil, for the Son of man's sake.
23 Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your
reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the
prophets.
24 But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your
consolation.
25 Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you
that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep.
26 Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did
their fathers to the false prophets.
It is much better to suffer now and
be blessed than to have your ease now and be cursed. Just remember these words of our Lord the next
time you envy some wicked person who is prospering in the world while you are
suffering as you follow Christ. It may
seem for the moment that your faith isn’t working and, therefore, is of little
worth. But eternity will reveal it to
have been otherwise. Just have
patience. It will pay off in the end.
Now you might wonder why you can’t
have pleasure and ease in this life and in the next. Well, in an unfallen world that would have
been the case, but not in a fallen world. Given our sinfulness, yes, even in
spite of the grace of God in us, were we to have too much pleasure and ease
here, we would never want to quit this world for the next. God knows how to wean us from this world and
wean us He does!
And this brings us back to 1Peter 1:6-7:
1 Peter 1:6 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:
Observe that the tried faith will “be
found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.” Just how important is it to you to honour the
Lord and in turn receive the honour that comes from Him? You see, many do not have this tried faith precisely
because they do not seek this honour
that comes from the Lord.
John 5:44 How can ye believe, which receive honour one of
another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?
John 12:42 Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed
on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should
be put out of the synagogue:
43 For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
The praise of men? or the praise of
God? Which do you most desire? If the honour and praise of men is so
important to you, you will lack the courageous faith that endures the fiery trial,
which was the kind of faith those saints had that we read about in Hebrews 11. Indeed, these saints did not have the honour
and praise of this world. But this world
was the loser for that rather than they, for it is written of them: “Of whom the world was not worthy.” This world does not deserve to have good
people like that in it.
So in all your tribulation, seek
first and foremost to honour God in how you bear it knowing that everlasting
honour awaits you at the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. Hang it there! Be patient! Keep the faith!
Hebrews 10:35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath
great recompence of reward.
36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the
will of God, ye might receive the promise.
37 For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and
will not tarry.
38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my
soul shall have no pleasure in him.
39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of
them that believe to the saving of the soul.
I close this series of meditations on
this somber note:
Luke 18:8 …Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find
faith on the earth?
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