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G.K. Chesterton once said, “Hope means hoping when things are hopeless, or it is no virtue at all. . .  As long as matters are really hopeful, hope is mere flattery or platitude; it is only when everything is hopeless that hope begins to be a strength.”[i]

Exile is hard! But exiles can have joy in they present when their hearts are gripped by a Gospel-rooted, futured-focused living hope. Even amidst unimaginable difficulties, we can still have joy.

In 1 Peter 1:6-9, Peter mentions two difficulties that cannot dim our joy.

You can rejoice when you’re suffering (vv. 6-7)

Exile hope can rejoice even during suffering. Notice verses 6-7, “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, (7) so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

In these two verses we learn a wealth of wisdom about trials. Notice first that trials are various. These believers are being grieved by “various trials.” Not all trials look the same. It could be the loss of a loved one. A marriage that has grown cold. A baby that won’t sleep at night. A pink slip at work. A temptation that continues to beat you down. An unmet desire for a spouse. A social awkwardness that makes it difficult to connect with people. Loneliness. Infertility. Depression. Anxiety. Doubt. Lust. Cancer. Addiction. Unemployment. Divorce. Severe allergies. Feelings of shame related to past sins. Persecution. We could go on and on. If it causes you grief, it’s a trial. You may not think of it that way because there’s somebody else who has it a bit worse than you. But God doesn’t minimize your suffering by comparing it to somebody else. Your tears matter to Him, Christian.

Next, Peter acknowledges that trials are painful. These believers are being “grieved” by their trials. This might seem obvious but suffering hurts. The world knows this, but sometimes as Christians we think that it’s somehow unspiritual to admit the reality of our suffering. It’s not. Even Jesus wept. Even Paul was afflicted, perplexed, and struck down. Trials hurt. If you learned anything from our study in Lamentations, I hope you learned that it’s okay to be grieved by trials. Just take your pain to the Lord.

But even though trials are various and painful, we can rejoice when we’re suffering because trials are temporary. Yes, these believers are grieved, but their grief will only last “for a little while.” As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, (18) as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

We can also rejoice when we’re suffering because trials are refining. Like the refiner’s fire purifies gold by revealing its impurities, so too with our trials. They purify us and remove the impurities from our lives. That’s the point Peter makes in verse 7, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may  be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

The more you grow in your love for Jesus, the more you’ll grow to love what He loves and hate what He hates. Which means you’ll grow to hate your sin. And as you learn to hate your sin, you’ll learn to embrace the trials that refine you and remove your attachment to this world.

I believe that one thing God is doing in 2020 is refining His church. He’s slowly removing all the things we’ve been attached to that are smaller than Him. Sports. Entertainment. Stability. Health. Independence. One by one these idols are taken away from us. It hurts! But we can rejoice because we know that God is doing this for our good to make us holy.

You can rejoice when you can’t see (vv. 8-9)

One of my favorite definitions for faith comes from Sally Lloyd-Jones in her children’s book, The Jesus Storybook Bible. In her retelling of the story of Abraham she writes, “Abraham trusted what God said more than his eyes could see.”[ii]

That’s not just the story of Abraham. It’s our story. Look at what Peter writes in verses 8-9—Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, (9) obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

We can love Jesus, even those we have never seen Him with these eyes. We can believe in Him even though we cannot now see Him. We can rejoice with inexpressible joy, knowing that the day is coming when we will see Him and be saved from this mess. We can be joyful in the present even though we cannot see. The exile’s hope is the only hope that lasts because it is joyful in the present.

 

[i] G.K. Chesterton, Signs of the Times, April 1993, p. 6.  

[ii] Sally Lloyd-Jones, The Jesus Storybook Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007), 59.