“You rejoice in this, even though now for a short time, if necessary, you suffer grief in various trials so that the proven character of your faith—more valuable than gold which, though perishable, is refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:6–7)

“Can a Christian greatly rejoice while he is in distress? Yes, most assuredly he can. Mariners tell us that there are some parts of the sea where there is a strong current upon the surface going one way, but that down in the depths there is a strong current running the other way. Two seas do not meet and interfere with one another, but one stream of water on the surface is running in one direction and another below in an opposite direction.

Now, the Christian is like that. On the surface there is a stream of heaviness rolling with dark waves. But down in the depths there is a strong undercurrent of great rejoicing that is always flowing there” (Charles Spurgeon).

A quick note to start. I am not in distress, but I imagine somebody reading these words is. Someone is going through something that I can’t even begin to comprehend. There is someone out there who would love to have one of my bad days because my bad days are way better than their good days.

But this promise is true. Underneath the current of heaviness is a counter-current of great rejoicing and peace. And underneath all that are the everlasting arms of Jesus. He gives a peace that transcends anything that makes sense to us or that we can comprehend. In Him we can have a blessed assurance even in the worst of circumstances because Jesus is mine.

I don’t know how it works. I know that the strength to endure only comes at the exact moment when it is most needed. God’s grace is like the daily manna in the wilderness that you couldn’t hoard for a rainy day or store up for the future. You had to trust in faith from day to day for the next day and not worry beyond that. That’s what faith in the midst of crisis is like. Strength for today and bright hope for a tomorrow beyond the pain and suffering.