This is my favorite Bible verse. Growing up in church people would often ask
“what’s your favorite bible verse.” It’s part of Christian culture for this topic
to come up and I always hated being asked, because I never had one. I enjoyed
reading the bible and learning the truths of God’s heart, but often I never
felt connected to any specific scripture.
It stayed that way for me until I was 19 years old. 19 was one of the hardest years of my life.
My extended family went through a harsh break down that affected me mentally,
emotionally and spiritually. I was devastated by the breakdown in my family and
by the lies that were being told regarding me and my character (along with the
character of my parents). It felt like too much to bear. The rejection felt
unfair and unwarranted. I desperately wanted answers, yet no one would give
them to me. I wanted to know what I could do to fix it, but my desperate
attempts to mend the broken relationships with my extended relatives only left
me more wounded and rejected.
I also felt the farthest away from God that I had
ever felt before. One day God led me on a study to 1 Peter. It was in that
study that I found this scripture:
6In this you greatly rejoice, even
though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by
various trials, 7so
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. (verse
via Biblehub).
I felt like I had my answers. To this day, I’ve never
been able to get my family to express why they rejected me, but I felt like God
answered my question of why. The answer was because I needed it. I need the
trials. I needed the persecution. I needed the rejection to test the genuineness
of my faith. God needed to show me where I was in my faith beliefs. He needed
to show me where I was when I was being hurt- would I still trust Him? Would I
still love Him? Would I still believe he was good if everyone I loved and
wanted acceptance from came against me?
I still hold on to this scripture when I am in times
of struggle, testing or trials. I always look to first Peter to remind myself
that if I am being tested, it is to prove the genuineness of my faith. To be
refined. To be more like Christ.
XOXO,
Myah Lonye’
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