The following is adapted by permission from “Going From Trials to Triumph,” a seminar with Jonathan Falwell, held at the Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove, Nov. 3-5, 2021.
If you know the story of Peter, you know that he faced a lot of persecution in following Christ. In fact, he ended up being martyred for his faith, about a year and a half after he wrote his first letter. He was willing to let the Holy Spirit of God speak through him, and he was willing to sacrifice his own life because he believed so much in the cause of the Gospel.
I want to consider this key verse, 1 Peter 1:6: “So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while.”
Basically, this verse tells us, “Hang on. Hang in there. Be full of joy.” Why? Because even though you are going through difficult times, and even though you’re facing trials here on earth, know this: God is going to take care of you.
“Be truly glad,” it says. “There is wonderful joy ahead.” In the midst of some of the greatest trials in life, isn’t it great to be reminded that there is wonderful joy ahead?
The Bible says that through one man, Adam, sin entered into the world. And because of sin, death entered into the world. And because death has entered into the world, we have to endure many trials for a moment, for a season.
Now, I know some will say, “I’ve been enduring them for a lot longer than a moment.”
But when you think of it in the scope of eternity, it doesn’t matter whether you’re 10 years old or 50 or 100 years old. The time we spend on this earth is just a blip.
In 1 Peter 1:1, we see that we are not yet home: “This letter is from Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ. I am writing to God’s chosen people who are living as foreigners …” You know that God has something better for us than this earth, right? Revelation 21 says that Heaven is a place where there is no more pain, no more sorrow, no more tears and no more death. That’s what God has prepared for us: a place beyond our wildest imagination.
So we’ve got to understand that we are not yet home. And if we’re not yet home, let’s spend time while we’re here rejoicing in the future—in the fact that God has something far better for us. Whatever you’ve gone through, whatever the past looks like, whatever brokenness we’ve experienced or challenges we’re facing today, we can rejoice in our future. Why? Because God has something greater. ©2021 Jonathan Falwell
Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, ©1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois.
Jonathan Falwell is senior pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia. He also serves as the campus pastor for Liberty University.
The Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove offers a variety of events with sound Bible teaching and soul-stirring worship. Jonathan Falwell is scheduled to lead a seminar titled “A Journey Through Philippians” Nov. 7-9. For information or to register for an upcoming event, visit TheCove.org or call 828-771-4800.