No Surprises Here!

1 Peter 4: 12-13 "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed."

I have been reading through 1 Peter in the mornings for the past few weeks, taking bits at a time, and I have been stopped at these 2 verses for about a week now. We are told to NOT be surprised when we go through--what?--painful trials. Not just any trial, but a painful one. This has struck me. Why? Well, because, as a human, I guess I AM surprised when I exprience something painful, especially a Christian human. I mean, I'm a Christian, why should life continue to be painful? Au contraire, my friend! Just because I'm a Christian doesn't mean the trials go away, it just means when they do come I have the Lord to help me through.

It is no secret that David and I have been going through many trials. Our time at Bankers was one trial after another. And now, here we are in our holding pattern, in a different kind of trial. It's annoying. It's frustrating. It hurts. It's painful. No, we're not dealing with abuse from other people; no, we're not wondering who will tell the next lie about us. But, it's still painful. This waiting thing is NOT fun, but I'm not telling you anything you don't already know.

I struggle daily with wanting to know what God has next for us, and I struggle daily trying to understand why we're still waiting. But, let's just face it, I'm commanded to NOT be surprised when I go through painful trials. Why? So that I might be overjoyed when his glory is revealed! Wow! What a promise! What an encouragement! How much greater will his glory be, his plan be when it's revealed when I've had to endure pain to get there.

I'm reminded of my husband. A year ago at this time he was in severe pain. Turns out it was his gall bladder acting up. He was in so much pain that eating was painful, laying was painful, sitting, standing, just existing was painful. But oh the RELIEF he felt as soon as he woke up and realized the pain had been removed! He was able to EAT without pain, walk, sit, lay down. It was amazing! Sure he had a little soreness from the surgery and he'll always have the scars, but he's no longer in pain. How much this is like our painful trials. They hurt. You don't know how much more you can take. You wonder if you'll ever get back to normal--whatever that was? You wonder if you'll ever be able to do the things you enjoyed before the pain. And then, one blessed day (or week, or month, or time, depending on how the Lord chooses to work!) the pain is removed and you begin to heal. Soon, the pain is only a memory, then a distant memory. Yes, you'll have the scars, but I guess maybe they're there to remind you of the pain you went through and just how wonderful it was when the Lord revealed his glory.

I hope that through this painful trial I can sit here and stop being surprised. I hope that I can focus, instead, on his coming glory. I want you to also be encouraged by these words. Don't be surprised, just wait for His glory--it'll be well worth it!