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1 Peter 1:7“That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:”
At the turn of the century cod fish were in much demand on the east coast. News of the tasty fish quickly spread across the country all the way to the west coast. There was however a problem. How could they get the cod fish across the country and still keep it fresh? They tried to freeze the fish and send it by rail, the fastest means at the time. But when it was prepared it turned out to be very mushy and lacked flavor.
Then someone decided to ship the fish live turning railroad cars into huge saltwater aquariums. When the cod fish arrived they were alive but when they were prepared they were still mushy and tasteless.
After studying the cod fish someone discovered that their natural enemy was the catfish. This time when the cod fish were put in the tanks, they placed a few catfish in with them. Those catfish chased the cod fish all the way across the country to the west coast.
This time when the cod fish were prepared, they were flaky and had the same flavor as they did when they were caught fresh and prepared on the east coast. You see, the catfish kept the cod from becoming stale.
Sometimes God puts a trail—a catfish—into our tank, not to hurt or destroy us, but to strengthen and grow us! Instead of asking “Why is this happening?” ask yourself “What is God trying to teach me?” Trials and storms come up in everyone’s life. Our flesh tells us to give up when it gets hard, but God wants us to keep going forward. He has something he wants each of us to learn from our trials.
There are people who only you can reach: family, friends and those around you. Your trials are opportunities for you to show Christ to those around you. Your family and friends are watching to see how you deal with trials. When that storm comes in your life, are you going to show hope you have because of Christ? Or are you going to despair? How will you react to the trials in your life?
Jesus went through a trial when he went to the cross and God was glorified because of it. Will you view trials as the world views them, or will you choose to view trials as opportunities to grow in your Christian life and to glorify God to those around you?
