Daily Devotion

“Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means, at the point of highest reality. A chastity or honesty, or mercy, which yields to danger will be chaste or honest or merciful only on conditions. Pilate was merciful till it became risky.”

C.S. Lewis · The Screwtape Letters, Letter XXIX

Scripture

1 Peter 1:6–7 Therefore you have great joy, though for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in various trials, so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Reflection

Peter reminded me that joy does not exclude sorrow, and faith does not equal success. Feeling fear, exhaustion, or the urge to give up during trials is not failure, but rather faith being tested by fire. Just as gold needs to be heated to reveal its value, faith often reveals its truth when feelings wane. Today I see that perseverance is not about willpower, but about choosing not to leave after falling and continuing to trust in the Lord during trials.