You have either just had one, you are going to have one, or you are having one. But why call it a “fiery” trial as Peter does? This is because by its light the fire reveals precisely what we are spiritually.
It is apparent, of course, that this only appeals to those who have a desire to be godly.
For example, our endurance can be tested during a trial by how we respond to it. If we begin complaining and murmuring, we will acknowledge later that we did not stand up to the trial very well for we did not display a godly nature. Thus trials will test our ability to manifest all the fruit of the Spirit. They test our work whether we have been walking in the light, and they expose how spiritual we really are, which is the sum of all that has gone on before.
What makes a trial a trial is that God, as it were, leaves us, and we feel deserted and betrayed. We say, “God, I don’t believe this; why would You do this to me? Why desert me at a moment when I needed You the most?” Is that not the way you have felt? That’s why it is called a “fiery” trial; God leaves you to test you, to see what is there. And so, this is the thing about the trial by fire: it exposes how spiritual we really are—which is the sum total of all our Christian living so far. We are forced to see ourselves, and we can find out how Christlike we truly are.
Excerpted from When God Says “Well Done!” (Christian Focus Publications Ltd., 1993).
