by Sylvia Gunter
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Our son Charley’s family were Hurricane Ivan refugees whom we took in. The hurricane and its accompanying tornadoes passed right over his house in south Alabama. The next day he left his family here to go check on their home. As he left, choking back emotion, with me in tears, he said to me, “It’ll be all right. And if it’s not all right, it’ll still be all right.” That is a man profoundly at peace in the providence of God.
In your Bible read 1 Peter 1:3-9 slowly, allowing your spirit to connect with the Spirit of truth in this passage. Then continue with this devotional, verse by verse.
1 Peter 1:7. “These have come so that your faith- of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
Jesus is pleased because he already sees your life as the pure gold he is refining. He sees the real you, the true you, the person he has in mind as he is making you shine like precious gold. You shine to reflect him, not to do for yourself the best that you can do and grit your teeth and merely survive. The walls you build against harsh realities keep your life from being opened up and transformed. God is doing for you something that is more wonderful. He is displaying his praise, glory, and honor in Jesus in you.
God is making eternal precious gold. Look into his face to reflect him. Keep God-referenced, God-oriented. If you lose your connection with his face, you lose your orientation. He is your true north. In finding out where you are and where you are going, orientation is everything. God has written the treasure map of your life, the way to the gold, so let him be the marker that says “You are here.” At times that may be all he will give you, just the witness that “I am here.” He won’t let you see the whole map, but he knows the place in time meant only for you and found by you only at that moment. He inhabits that place and that moment. Wait on him to interpret it and lead you there. Be blessed with real faith that has been tested and proved genuine. Be blessed with faith made strong by Jesus the author and finisher of your faith. Be blessed with the riches of faith that is worth more than pure gold.
1 Peter 1:8-9. “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
Be blessed with trusting love that is certain that God is fulfilling his good purposes when you don’t know what he’s doing. Be blessed with love that is fully satisfied that he is keeping his faithful word to you, no matter how long it takes or how contrary your circumstances look. Be thrilled with inexpressible and unspeakable joy now, and be blessed with glorious joy that sees you to the other side of your difficult circumstances. Be blessed in the name of the faithful One who is totally worthy of your love and trust. Be blessed with the faith, love, and joy beyond words that believing him brings.
Be blessed in the love of the One who engraved you on the palms of his hands from beginning to end, whole and complete (Isaiah 49:16).
You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2009/10/05/sg_brokenness/
What is this house of God which David seeks? Is David describing a physical structure? Does he long for a building with four walls and a door through which he can enter but never exit? No. “Our Lord does not live in temples built by human hands” (Acts 17:24). When David says, “I will live in the house of the LORD forever” (Psalms. 23:6), he’s not saying he wants to get away from people. He’s saying that he yearns to be in God’s presence, wherever he is.