More precious than gold

1 Peter 1:7

That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.

Few things are more precious than gold. But much more precious! Even fewer! This is the trial of your faith. It should be cherished. It should be welcomed and received with thanksgiving, for it refines the faith of God’s child better than any other agent. Trials refine and purify. Trials sift out the chaff, and burn off the dross. They eliminate unnecessary superfluities. Trials are God’s furnace. They make us that we may come forth as gold, as Job of old says. The fire is needed. It is to be desired, that we might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. The fire prepares us. The heat of affliction makes us fit for that great Day.

Now, my friend, are you in a trial of your faith? Is your faith tried, stretched, and bent to great stress? Is it being put to great pressure? Thank the Lord for it! Is it under the heat of God’s fire? Praise His name! For it will be much purer, greater, and better as a result. You will be fit for service, and clean for His use. You may be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the Master’s use, and prepared unto every good work. Don’t despise the trials nor the pain. Do not disdain the fire or the furnace. For it is much more precious than gold that perisheth! For your faith will not perish! It is kept by the power of God, and ready to be revealed in the last time! Our faith is eternal, for ever! But only through trials will it be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. Thank God that your faith is tried with fire!

“Lord, although our natural inclination is to resist trials, we thank you for the fire that purifies and sanctifies us, making us better and more pure before Thee. Help us to take it as from Thy holy hand. With the hymn writer, we pray these words:

‘Day by day, and with each passing moment,

Strength I find to meet my trials here;

Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment,

I’ve no cause for worry or for fear.

He, whose heart is kind beyond all measure,

Gives unto each day what He deems best,

Lovingly its part of pain and pleasure,

Mingling toil with peace and rest.

Every day the Lord Himself is near me,

With a special mercy for each hour;

All my cares He fain would bear and cheer me,

He whose name is Counsellor and Pow’r.

The protection of His child and treasure

Is a charge that on Himself He laid;

“As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,”

This the pledge to me He made.

Help me then, in every tribulation,

So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,

That I lose not faith’s sweet consolation,

Offered me within Thy holy Word.

Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,

E’er to take, as from a father’s hand,

One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,

Till I reach the promised land.’

These things we pray in Christ’s name, Amen.”