3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and unfading, having been kept in heaven for you, 5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:3-7 (LSB)
When God saves a person, he or she is changed forever because they are new creations. However, they are not at the spiritual maturity level that God desires for His people. Therefore, from that point until they go home to be with their Lord, all genuine Christians will go through a series of tests and trials that put pressure on their faith….
This pressure is spiritual, but the circumstances applying it come from all directions and sources. The Apostle Paul had a thorn in the flesh that put his faith to test to the point that he implored the Lord to take it away.
7 Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! 8 Concerning this I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might leave me. 9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions and hardships, for the sake of Christ, for when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (LSB)
We do not know what Paul’s ‘thorn’ was, but it resulted in him being in a severe test or perhaps a test that was so because it was multifaceted in how it attacked him. This test caused him to plead with the Lord three times to take it away. However, notice that God’s response was to allow the ‘thorn’ while sustaining Paul by His grace in the midst of it. What was Paul’s response to that? I know that when I was a younger Christian that I would read this passage and wonder where God’s grace was in my tests and trials. However, nowadays things are different. I still do not like suffering, wanting it to end quickly, but I have learned that I am a Christian for God’s glory and for my Lord’s sake, not for myself at all. That realization finally began to sink home with me in August 2004 after an 8-month boot camp with God drawing me closer and closer to Him over that time. I was truly amazed at how my conceptualization of suffering changed after that. I am nowhere near where I would like to be in this, but there are times I find myself in potential pressure cooker situations and have come away amazed at my patience and calm demeanor through it all. No matter how severe our trials are, God’s grace is sufficient for us, for His power is made perfect in weakness.