Proverbs 17.3
“The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the Lord tests hearts.”
Today we examine the second of three principles for how to respond when you are in the crucible of adversity:
Knowing and trusting God drives out fear. The apostle John tells us why: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4.18). When you fully recognize what God has done for you because he loves you, fear is driven out. That is because grateful drives out fearful. When you fully understand what God has called and commissioned you to do, fear is driven out. That is because faithful drives out and fearful.
Of course, the opposite is also true:
If you resist what he has done for you, you will be afraid.
If you resist what he has sent you to do, you will be afraid.
The challenge for many Christians is that they want to be saved, but they don’t want to be sent. They want what God does for them, but they resist what God sends them to do. They want the benefits of God’s love and grace, but not the obligations and responsibilities that come with it.
When Jesus met with the disciples in the upper room the night before his arrest and crucifixion, He knew that the disciples were afraid. Understanding their distress, Jesus said to them, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14.1-3).
A few verses later, Jesus again encourages the disciples to trust him and not be afraid. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (v27).
In the Upper Room, Jesus was very direct and candid with the disciples. He told them that difficulty and hardship is coming, and they were going to be persecuted. Jesus now tells them to respond to the adversity with faith, not fear. First the Lord tells them to have faith that he is preparing a place for them in God’s future kingdom, and then He promises to give them his peace. Jesus emphasizes that the peace he gives is not the kind that the world gives. When fully appropriated by faith, the peace of God drives out fear.
How does the world give peace? If you were troubled, upset, and disturbed, and you went to a counselor who was not a Christian and asked him, “What can I do to gain peace,” what would he tell you? You might hear something like, “Take a trip. Go to Hawaii. Get away from it all.” In other words, “Change your circumstances. Get to the place where nothing bothers you, where everything is peaceful around you.”
But Jesus says, “I give peace right in the midst of trouble, right in the midst of distress and turmoil and heartache and pressure. I can impart peace to your heart right where you are, and the world cannot do that.” Out of that promise comes the guarantee that the Lord is working out His purposes. He will bring us through and then to the end of the difficulty or challenge or adversity we face. He will still the storm and quiet the waves. That is peace.
Again, the difference between faith and fear is focus. When you experience hard times, do not follow the path of fear. Follow the path of faith. The Lord knows your circumstances. He knows the challenges you face. The Lord’s message to you is this: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)
God loves you and has provided for your salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus. God also sends you into the world as his ambassador … as an agent of his kingdom. As you live and work for him, you will experience adversity. You will be tested. You will experience the crucible. When that happens, trust God and maintain your focus.
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” (Isaiah 26.3)
