GENUINE

1 Peter 1:6-8 (TNIV) “In all 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—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.  Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,

gen·u·ine adj.
1. Actually possessing the alleged or apparent attribute or character.
2. Not spurious or counterfeit; authentic.
3. a. Honestly felt or experienced; b. Actual; real.
4. Free from hypocrisy or dishonesty; sincere.
5. Being of pure or original stock.

Ever met people who you would describe as GENUINE or perhaps authentic?  They seem down-to-earth; real; not pretentious; no hidden agendas? They weep with you when you are sad; celebrate with you when you are joyful.  After spending years looking for such a church with a congregation of GENUINE believers, I think I have finally found them. They are the type of folks who put feet to their faith and are always honestly glad to see you. Their faith is real and it shows. Why does it seem as though there are so few of them around?

I’m not sure that I can answer that last question, but based on the above portion of scripture, maybe too many of us are wilting under the pressure of the trials that come our way.  The way we come through our circumstances shows others how GENUINE our faith in God is. Do we cuss and fuss our way through them or do we silently endure them, seeking that which God would teach us to strengthen us for battle against the wiles of our enemy? If the truth be known, I have been a part of the former, rather than the latter team more than I care to admit.  Sometimes our faith comes under such immense pressure that we cave. We let our emotions get the better of us and we just go off screaming into the night. Okay, we don’t literally do that, but be honest, how many times do you wish you could have?

It is interesting that we can love and serve an UNSEEN God, yet allow our faith to buckle when the heat is turned up. Did we honestly expect that once we accepted Christ and were forgiven for our sins nothing bad would ever happen to us? Bad things happen to good people. We need to move past that.  I believe that everything happens to us for a specific purpose and it is our responsibility to find out from our Lord just what He wants to teach us in a given situation. It is meant to build up our faith and not frustrate it. Answers do NOT come instantaneously most of the time. It is ‘YES’, ‘NO’ or ‘NOT YET’.  We can deal with the Yes responses; however, it’s the NO’s and the NOT YET’s that eat our lunch. If you expected a cake walk, you are in the wrong episode. God is never taken by surprise when a trial befalls us. He has either caused or allowed it for a very specific purpose.

Once you weather your storm of uncertainty and realize that that which has befallen you is actually common to man in one form or another, you will begin to stand up to the pressure. When you are able to do that you will start to show others the genuineness of your faith. With God being the One who is capable of doing ANYTHING, we need to tap into that and live our lives in certainty, rather than fear and trepidation. What do you say? Surrender to God and let His will be done in your life today.

WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!!