1 Peter 1:6-9

"Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls."
1 Peter 1:6-9


This scripture is one that I just opened up to this morning, kind of randomly, but it hit really close to home.  I think sometimes I get frustrated with not being able to see what "the end of [my] faith" is... and this scripture makes it pretty clear. :)  And it helps to know that the heaviness and fire that we go through now matters... because it is part of working towards a specific goal: the salvation of our souls.  It isn't random and pointless, as we sometimes think in those paranoid moments... rather, it is precious.  It is more important to us than the million dollars we dream of. :)  Way, way more.  Because it is those temptations and trials that refine us, purify us, and make us into who we can become.  It is through the hardships of our lives that we achieve the salvation of our souls... and really, in the end, that is what will be more precious to us than anything else.  Achieving salvation.  Not easy, certainly... but within reach.