So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. -- 1 Peter 1:6, NLT
We tend to think of enduring as not only a means, but an end. It often seems the best we can muster. But this is not enough. Surviving and thriving are vastly different things.
Peter writes that we are to be truly glad because, there is wonderful joy ahead. Jesus' brother James put it this way, Consider it pure joy... when you face various trials (James 1:2).
There is art and faith necessary to thrive even in the midst of trials. Required is a steely-eyed willingness to acknowledge the reality of the giant standing before us; mixed with a childlike - almost silly - belief that the giant will fall.
It would be inauthentic and possibly damaging to dismiss our trial. It is real. But just as real, realer if you will allow me, is the joy beyond. And the One who stands behind the giant of our trial is gianter.
We must learn to look to the far side. Christ himself endured the trial of the cross by focusing on the joy set before him (Hebrews 12:2).
And here is the key: the joy beyond, is our joy in the midst. If I were preaching, I'd pause, then slowly enunciate those words again. The God who stands behind the giant also stands beside us as we face the giant. His shadow overshadows every giant. (Yep, I'd repeat that one too.) And, in his presence is the fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11). So as we face the trial, we recognize the joy on the other side and we realize (as in experience) the joy of his presence even in the fog of trial.
I saw the movie Everest the other day. It is the story of the catastrophe that surrounded the May 1996 expedition attempting to summit the highest pinnacle on the planet. There are many analogies and lessons that I will save for later. It is one statement made by Doug Hansen that impacted me. "Suffer a few more days, and for the rest of your life you'll be the guy who got to the top of Everest."
Endure because you must. Survive because you can. But thrive because because there is a joy... a joy on the far side... a joy that is also here, now.
God, as Nehemiah said, "The joy of the Lord is (will be) my strength."
For now...
D
