RENEWED AND REFRESHED
1 Peter 4:12-13
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; 13 but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.
This spring, as we drove across sections of Oklahoma, there was a point where we could see large white plumes of smoke in the skies in front of us. As we got closer we could see large expanses of charred hillsides. A few places were still burning, but of the area was black and void of any vegetation.
As we traveled further we could see that this was the work of the department of wildlife. The burns were being done to refresh the prairies grasses. Early native Americans used fire to burn off prairie grasses as well, that had become old or mature and did not attract the herds of buffalo anymore. They would burn the grasses right to bare soil and the new growth that would come would be sweet and tender to the buffalo and attract them to the area and hold them there long enough that so the people could harvest what they needed for the winter months.
We witnessed these same practices being used today... but for different reasons. Wildlife habitat can become overgrown and the food that was once there is no longer useful. It is tough and the nutrition that was once abundant is now gone. As the plant life becomes tough and old it is of little use to the wildlife.
The same can be true of people. When we are young in our Christian walk we grow quickly and we are useful to Christ and to others. Some of us become toughened and bitter and the spiritual "nutrition" that we once shared low longer exists.
A habitat biologist today will often use prescribed burns to bring back the new growth to the plant life there. Peter writes that we shouldn't be surprised when "fiery trials comes upon us". Like the plants, these fiery trials produce new, tender growth in our lives. Tender growth that is usable and is "nutritious" to us and to those around us.
Few of us welcome trials, most are not fun in any way. However they bring new growth that is so beneficial to us. The books of James opens with this statement...
James 1:2-4
"Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."
James knew that it took trials to bring us to the point of "perfection and completion, lacking nothing".
We do not have to enjoy the trials, we seldom (or ever) would. However we should welcome trials as they come, standing firm in your faith, knowing that God allows fiery trials to come upon us on occasion to produce the new growth that will bring us to completeness in Him. As we withstand the trials we can look forward to the coming glory that will be revealed.
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