Knowing That Refining Brings Hope

Fleeing persecution for their faith, the Puritans set sail and crossed to an unfamiliar land. Raids by Native Americans and epidemics took more than half of their company, yet when they gathered their first harvest, they invited the very people who had attacked them and held a service of thanksgiving together.

Refining is like the cutting of a diamond. A stone that could not shine on its own gives off its light only once it has been cut and polished; in the same way, it is by passing through tribulation and perseverance that a person comes to bear the likeness of God’s character. Those who have found peace with God through Jesus Christ know that his grace is greater than the tribulations of this world, and so they are able to rejoice even in the midst of suffering.

The hardships the Puritans endured were not a curse but God’s plan to lead them to the land of America. When tribulation is seen from a place of thanksgiving, perseverance is no longer a matter of forcing oneself to endure; it becomes a patience that holds on to a higher hope. Because that love is greater than the pain, believers who meet with refining can still live in hope, loving the law of the Lord.