Marsha's Musings: Guarded by God's Power (1Peter 1:3-12)

        

,Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. (1 Peter 1:3-12 ESV)

I am intrigued by the fact that this does not say we will be guarded from trouble or persecution. It indicates instead that our salvation is guarded by God's power through faith.

he has caused us to be born again...who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time...In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire...

If God has genuinely saved you and me we will have trials and the purpose of those trials is to prove the genuiness of our faith.  God will guard the salvation of our souls through these crises of faith that we will endure.

Many preachers make the mistake of "selling" Jesus to people on the premise that He will take care of all their problems. He will fix a broken marriage. He will fix your financial problems. He will heal your body. They make becoming a Christian look like some sort of fairy land.

Sorry Charley, but that is heresy. For many people the trouble starts when they are saved. Those Christians in the Middle East and beyond are exiles. They are persecuted for their faith. One day we may be called upon to suffer in a similar fashion. The good news is that God will guard the souls of His people through it, refine their faith, prove their faith as genuine and wean them off the world to cause them to look for the prize of the high calling of God.  God will guard our souls in the fire of trials.