In the miry clay

He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.
 He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. (Psalm 40:2-3a)

I'm wondering if Peter was thinking of this Psalm as he wrote the next verses we will study, from I Peter:

In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come 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. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (I Peter 1:6-9)

The Psalmist and the apostle Peter were both thinking of the same things . . . . and I'm afraid we kind of confuse things nowadays. Let's see if we can figure out what is biblical!

We mentioned before that Christians are "all over the place" when it comes to how we think about, or respond to, suffering. Trials are common, but believers have many different responses to them!

First, we have Faithful Frances, who maintains that no one suffers unless they lack faith. We should claim healing by faith, and deny all negative thoughts. Only positive thoughts allowed.
Well, Frances, I hate to say it, but this is not biblical.....

Then there is Smiling Samantha. She says that yes, Christians must go through suffering, but they must keep a great, big smile on their faces. They are always "comforting" seriously stressed-out folks by chirping, "Rejoice always....in everything give thanks!" (I Thessalonians 5) Or, skipping up and saying, "Well you know....all things work together for good!" (Romans 8)  Seeing a grieving spouse after a funeral, Smiling Samantha grabs their hand and says merrily, "Well, they're in glory now!"

Oy vey. Yes, they are, but that may not be what that suffering believer needs right now. In fact, Smiling Samantha's approach can lead to folks being seen as hypocritical. It can even add up into emotional problems.....it's just phony. We can't deny pain. We can't shovel grief under the rug. I don't think this is biblical, either, and it is definitely not the best for our health.

At the other end of the pendulum from Samantha is Venting Victoria. Vickie says that we need to express how we feel..... to work through all the stages of emotions. We should vent our anger; we should let out the rage; just let the bitterness pour out.  Don't feel like doing that? Vickie puts on her wanna-be-psychiatrist hat and says, "You're in denial, honey!" She tells believers that God can take whatever they dish out, so just let him know how angry they feel.  Well, Victoria, this isn't the best way, either.

What IS the right way? The Biblical way to deal with suffering and trials?

I think that we can find verses in both the Old Testament and the New Testament that tell us we should not deny the pain or grief, but at the same time, to have joy in the Lord.....while we are in the miry clay.

Whaaaaaa?
I know, right? But I think if we look at some verses, it will become clearer....

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12:11)

...sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything. (II Corinthians 6:10)

Peek through this window with me....here, I will give you a boost so that you can see inside....

See those two men? This is a prison they're in. Horrible conditions: dirt floor, damp and moldy walls, a pile of musty straw to lean back on and try to drowse. What's that you asked me? Oh, yes, their feet are clamped into metal contraptions to hold them still....no way for these two to escape now. Yes, I know, I see their bleeding backs, too. They were stripped of their clothing and beaten severely before they were brought here. It was all illegal, but that didn't stop their enraged opposition -- they had healed a young girl of her demonic possession. Wonderful for the young lady, but her owners lost their source of income, since she told people's fortunes.
Look!
Paul sat up and tried to ease his aching back....seemed any way he moved there was straw poking into the lacerations on his back. He reached over to brush off his companion, Silas, and smiled at him. "Friend Silas," he said, "at least we are alive!" Silas straightened his painful back and felt his bruised ribs. "True, brother Paul," he sighed. "We are in pain, but we are still here! And our Lord said things like this would come to us."
"Let's sing, Silas!" Paul chuckled. "It will make us feel more hopeful, in spite of our distress!"

So indeed, they did sing songs and hymns. And the rest of the story is in Acts 16 if you would like to read it....
I believe that Peter is telling us that we can rejoice at the same time we are "distressed" by our trials. That word that he uses is translated "pain" and "grief" elsewhere. So Peter is NOT denying the pain we feel. He is not saying that we will not (or should not) voice our grief. What he is doing is pointing us to the genuine joy that a Christian can have, in the midst of the trial.

The hope that the Psalmist spoke of.... the "possessing everything" that Paul mentioned.  It's a matter of perspective, I think.  We can have joy even in the miry clay.

Please join me the rest of this week as we study these verses!