1 Peter 4:12-13 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
Sometimes it’s very difficult to rejoice in trials – especially when the trials affect ministry! Last week, one of our servers that hosted a number of Worthy sites had a database server collapse, but after several days of work, the server is now back online. Although the damage was minimal, the time needed to spend researching the issue and then rebuilding the databases took days.
However, since we had backups, I found myself attempting to remain joyful during prayer, focusing on the fact that the situation wasn’t as dire as it might have been.
It became easier to rejoice when the Lord reminded me of the time in 2002 and again in 2004 when every single Worthy Ministries site was wiped out by hackers.
Suddenly, these immense trials I was dealing with – suddenly didn’t seem so overwhelming in the grand scope of things!
But the question remains, why the trials? Someone once said, “A faith that can’t be tested isn’t a faith worth having!” Trials are meant to increase our faith in God – the greater our needs, the greater our trials, the greater our dependence on Him; and usually, it’s in this state of utter dependence upon Him that we enjoy the deepest, most intimate times with our God. Honestly, can any trial be a price too much for such eternal good?
Whatever trials you’re dealing with – it’s probably not as bad as it could be! Let’s not despise these trials, but realize that God is utilizing these trials to increase our capacity for Him! God is using trials to increase our productivity for the Kingdom – with so much work to be done, we all need to be as productive as possible!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]There is something deeply intentional in God’s instruction concerning the lamb. He does not tell Israel to take a lamb at the last moment — He commands them to choose it on the 10th day of Nisan, set it apart, and live with it until the 14th day. This was not random timing; it was divine design.
There is something deeply powerful in the way God introduces Passover (Pesach) in Exodus. He does not begin with a list of instructions. He begins with divine intervention. Israel is enslaved, bound under Pharaoh, and crushed beneath a system they have no power to escape. Yet right in the middle of that helplessness, God speaks: “This month shall be for you the beginning of months.”
Yeshua (Jesus) does not conclude this parable with separation alone — He brings it to its true climax in glory. After the harvest, after the revealing, after everything has been set in its proper place, He lifts our eyes beyond the process and into the purpose with a powerful promise: the righteous will shine. This is the heart of the harvest — not merely the removal of what does not belong, but the unveiling of what truly does.
Yeshua (Jesus) brings this parable to a decisive and unavoidable climax: a moment is coming when everything in the field will be uncovered for what it truly is. The harvest is not merely the end of a process — it is the unveiling. What has been growing quietly over time will suddenly stand in full clarity, with no room left for confusion, assumption, or misjudgment. In that moment, the distinction will be undeniable.
There is something deeply instructive in the restraint of the Lord. When the servants recognize the problem in the field, their instinct is immediate action. They want to fix it, remove it, clean it up. But the Lord responds in a way that challenges human urgency. He tells them to wait.
There is a deeper layer in this parable that moves beyond simply identifying the difference between wheat and tares. Yeshua (Jesus) is not only revealing that the tare looks like wheat — He is warning that what it produces has the power to affect those who partake of it. The issue is not just imitation; it is ingestion. It is not only what is growing in the field, but what is being received into the heart.
With so much disinformation and so many voices speaking into our lives, people often ask for my thoughts on who to trust and what to believe. In light of that, I believe it’s time to step into a deeper kind of discernment — becoming what I would call a fruit inspector. This series is born out of that burden: to learn how to recognize the difference between the wheat and the tares.