"For a little while"

       "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have 

        had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your

        Faith. . . may be proved genuine and result in praise, glory and honor

         when Jesus Christ is revealed.                                       1 Peter 1:6,7

When things are not going quite right, a bit of advice frequently handed out is to keep a stiff upper lip. The advice suggests that there are certain difficulties you can expect in life, and the only way to cope with them is to grit your reeth and make the best of it.

        The Christian has a different view of life's difficulties. First of all, he understands their origin. They result from sin. All problems, all suffering, all sorrows, all difficulties, all misery, all frustations have a common origin. They result from sin. Sin has contaminated the whole human race, and the believer also suffers from that contamination.

         In addition, the Christian has another view of the difficulties he encounter in life. He knows that they are intented for his good. Granted, there are times when this is extremely hard to understand and accept. Yet the Bible stresses this again and again. God sends correction measures into our lives, just as parents do with their. Peter wrote to his readers that the trials which they were encountering had come "so that your faith. . .  May be proved genuine and result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."

         God's love for us is so great that he wants nothing to lure us from living and abiding in his saving grace. It is our trials in life, our problems, our tribulation which keep us from becoming too wrapped up in worldly affairs. If everything went along smoothly in life, if every day brought nothing but joy and pleasure, if every week and every month were nothing but one big pleasure trip, we would face the grave danger of becoming very attached to this world

         But we are strangers on this earth heaven is our home. The trials of life remind us of this. With the strength God provides, we can endure these trials. The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead  is  God's assurance that he will give us that strenght. How rich we are that God strengthens us in all the trials of life!