“Whom having not seen, you love; in Whom, though now you see Him not, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory—receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.”
I Peter 1:8-9
In the Journey of Faith, it is His Presence that sustains us and what awaits us that invigorates us.
“Joy unspeakable and full of glory.”
That’s the way the Apostle Peter described what happens when we remember Who Jesus is and how He’s using our difficulties to transform our faith into 24-karat status spiritually (vv.6-7).
Peter’s readers were evidently undergoing persecution. No doubt some of them were losing their jobs. Some of them were having their homes or businesses burned to the ground. Others were even being imprisoned or executed.
But, Peter said “Don’t give up; look up instead. Don’t look through the Microscope of Misery; peer through the Telescope of Triumph instead. You’ve been born again through God’s abundant Mercy and He’s given you a lively, living Hope (v.3). You’re also the recipient of His inheritance, which is incorruptible, undefiled, unfading and reserved in Heaven for you (v.4). And, even though you’re going through a difficult time right now, God will preserve you by His Resurrection Power and give you the victory (v.5). Just keep on keepin’ on. And, keep on giving Him praise, honor and glory in all things (v.7).”
Oh, dear Pilgrim, aren’t those wonderful words of exhortation and encouragement?
And, aren’t they what we need today?
Most assuredly it is.
Yes, as someone once said, “These are the times that try men’s souls.”
How true, how true.
Yet, the same Risen Lord that sustained those suffering saints in Peter’s day is the same One Who’ll sustain and transform us today by His marvelous Power. Hallelujah!!
That’s why we love someone we’ve never met and look forward to a Place we’ve never been. By faith we see His Presence with us in our “fiery furnace” even as the three Hebrew teenagers did that day (Dan. 3:25). We know He’s using our trials and tribulations to purge away the dross of sin in our lives so we can be more like Him.
And, in the process we discover what He meant when He said “These things have I spoken unto you, that MY Joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full (Grk. ‘pleroo’—‘to cram, level up, fill in a hollow place, satisfy, accomplish, complete, etc.’)”—Jn. 15:11. He doesn’t want us to barely limp across Heaven’s Finish Line; He wants us to enter in with “Joy-reserves” still in our tanks. Glory!!
Yes, “joy unspeakable” (Grk. “aneklaletos”—“unutterable, at a loss for words, etc.”) is Joy that comes from walking with Jesus daily. It’s here and now when we “abide in Him” and “walk in His Spirit.” So go forth today shouting, “Indescribably delicious!!” Amen and amen.
May 28, 2011
