In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ
1 Peter 1:6-7

We come across hardships and misfortunes. It’s a part of life, and sometimes they are unforeseen and unexpected. If it’s a hardship we’ve seen before, we have a playbook for getting through it; however, we teeter when confronting something for the first time. It’s easy to run away and retreat, but we must always remember hardships are gifts from God. Why are Christians unhappy, agitated, and dispirited? It’s because they have no hardship in their lives or they avoid or run away from adversity at all cost.

Scripture says to consider it pure joy whenever we face trials of many kinds. How is this possible? Hardships bring us two amazing gifts. First, hardships work as a panacea for all our ills, wrongdoings, and faults. Meeting adversity is an opportunity to fix all that is damaging our spirit and bodies. It is a chance to repent and correct all that is wrong in our lives. So when we suffer hardship, we must be filled with pure joy because it’s a gift from God. It’s God’s way of helping us cure all the ills in our lives. Second, facing trials helps us grow and mature. Misfortunes are gifts from God because we grow as Christians and become better people. It opens up a new world to us! If we avoid hardship or refuse to address them, we will never grow as human beings.

Hardships give us two gifts: they are a cure-all for our ills and they help us grow. Knowing hardships bring these two gifts, what can we do to ensure we receive these gifts? We must do three things when confronting hardships: obey the word of God, pray, and persevere. If we do these three things, there is no hardship we cannot overcome! There is no problem that cannot be solved! We bear the cross when we persevere! If we obey, pray, and persevere, we will be cured of all our ills and grow. We will be filled with joy.

We are Christians. We are filled with immense power. We have the merit of Jesus’ blood working inside of us. Whatever adversity or hardships we encounter, be filled with joy! In our victory, God cures all our ills and we mature and grow as human beings! We experience true joy and peace for the first time in our lives.

Summary
1. Hardships are God’s gifts.
2. The two gifts: cure-all for our ills and growth.
3. Do 3 things when confronting hardships.
          1. Obey
         2. Pray
        3. Persevere
4. Because hardships give us these gifts, consider it pure joy.

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