The Bible tells us that we have been elected, chosen specially to be God’s own. The plan of salvation is given to us. Our election and salvation are precious to us. But, trials are precious to us too. Can we really accept that our trials are precious? The people that Peter wrote to were suffering from trials, afflictions and persecutions. Their lives were at stake. They must have been greatly tempted to deny Christ.

1. The need for trials (1 Pet 1:6)

It is needful for us to suffer. The word “heaviness” refers to the weight that weighs us down. Christians are called to suffer. Suffering is what we must expect and we must be ready to suffer. The Lord has not called us to live comfortably in this world. He has a calling and a purpose for each one of us, and it includes suffering for Him.

The word “temptation” describes testing or trials with the purpose of moulding the character of a person. There will be manifold or diverse types of temptations that we will experience in our Christian lives.

2. The purpose of trials (1 Pet 1:7)

The word “trial” in 1 Peter 1:7 has the idea of testing to prove genuineness. Trials that will test if our faith is genuine or not are very precious. They are even more precious than gold that has been tested. The emphasis here is not so much on purification, but on the testing to see if something is genuine. A faith that has been tested and has proved to be genuine is more precious than tried gold. It is not so much for God to know the genuineness of our faith, but it is for us to know. We need to know whether or not our faith is genuine. According to 1 Peter 1:7b, when Jesus returns, those proven to have genuine faith will receive God’s approval, praise, honour and glory.

3. The fruit of our trials (1 Pet 1:8-9)

The result or fruit of our trials is that we can now rejoice with unspeakable joy. Knowing that we have genuine faith, we will experience a joy that cannot be expressed. It is a glorious joy that comes from within. It is the end result of a faith that has been proven and tested by trials to be genuine, a genuine faith that saves.