Trials and Glory in the Bible: The Link
“Trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow” 1 Peter 1:11.
In this post we’ll discuss the connection between trials and glory in the Bible. To read passage and get some context, click here.
The Connection Between Trials and Glory in the Bible
This verse is clearly talking about the suffering of Christ. But I believe suffering produces glory in the believer too. If we respond to it appropriately. All suffering is either the result of or produces temptation if you think about it. And temptation, when resisted makes us strong in that area. Strength produces maturity and maturity glory (See James 1: 2-4).
Think about a fruit tree for a minute. Once it matures it bears fruit. At harvest, the tree is heavy with fruit. And that fruit is its glory because it’s what it was created for. In fact, in the OT the word glory literally means weight. But it doesn’t bear fruit until it matures.
Psalm 84:11 tells us “. . . no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless”. To be mature is to be wise. And here’s what Proverbs 3: 15-18 has to say about wisdom:
“She is more precious than rubies;
nothing you desire can compare with her.
Long life is in her right hand;
in her left hand are riches and honor.
Her ways are pleasant ways,
and all her paths are peace.
She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her;
those who hold her fast will be blessed”.
And 3rd John verse 2 has this to say “. . . I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well”. The big idea that these and many other passages in the Bible convey about trials is that maturity (or wisdom) produces blessings or glory.
At What Price Glory?
But maturity comes at a price. And that price is some degree of suffering. Either because of temptation or persecution or the trials of life or even sin. All of these involve temptation. Even the suffering caused by sin produces glory if we respond to it in the right way. If we resist the temptation that comes with the consequences.
But of course, suffering doesn’t automatically produce glory. Actually, it’s more likely to produce shame if we don’t respond in faith. The natural reaction to suffering produced by temptation is to give in.
The natural reaction to persecution is to deny our Lord and give up our faith. To trials in general is to lose control, seek comfort apart from God, lash out, lose heart, become angry, bitter, depressed, rebellious.
These are the natural reactions to suffering in its various forms. And none of them will produce glory.
But suffering responded to in faith produces character or maturity. And character produces glory.
This is why James 1: 2-4 tells us to “consider it pure joy when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of our faith ultimately makes us perfect and complete, lacking in nothing (mature)”.
When Our Character Lacks Nothing Our Life Lacks Nothing
This isn’t for Christ’s sake. In fact, it’s more for ours than His. Because when our character lacks nothing, our lives will lack nothing (see Psalm 84:11). In other words, we’ll begin to live in glory. And of course when we have glory, God gets glory too because we are His children (John 17:1).
Suffering responded to in faith changes us on the inside. And whatever we have on the inside eventually shows up on the outside. Whether for good or for evil. This is why sin is so destructive. It may give us what we want in the short term. But it robs us of character (maturity) in the long term.
And to the degree we lose character (maturity), to that degree we lose blessings and glory because we will never have more on the outside. . . at least not for long. So, sin gives us short term happiness, but the price is long term glory.
The key to leveraging our suffering and using it facilitate a life of blessing and glory is to respond in faith and obedience. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” Romans 8:28.
The Moment We Choose to Love God
The moment we choose to respond to our suffering by resisting the temptation to be angry, bitter, depressed, full of self-pity, rebellious and comfort seeking is the moment we are choosing to love God in it. He then promises us that it will work for our good.
So, this is how you become mature (wise) and wisdom most assuredly produces glory. But the apostle Paul gave up the rewards of wisdom and became a “fool for Christ” (1 Corinthians 4:10). The glory that came of this was different but even greater!
Trials in the Bible: From Foolish to Wise to Foolish Again
To read another post similar to Trials and Glory in the Bible: The Connection, click here: All Things Work Together for Good If I Love God.
Although many of my posts are intended to encourage Christians to grow up so they can be blessed, that shouldn’t be our main reason for wanting to mature. Ultimately, everything we do as a Christian should be a response to what He’s already done for us.
In fact, growing up and becoming wise is only the first step in the Christian experience. Some already come to faith with a measure of this, but many do not. And as we’ve seen, wisdom and maturity bring rich rewards. But that’s not the end of the journey.
Once we’ve done the hard work to become wise and are experiencing the benefits, the next step is to give it up for Christ. In other words, to become a fool for Christ. We then have come full circle. We’ve gone from foolish to wise and back to foolish again. To learn more about this click here: What It Means to be a Fool For Christ.
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