Tag Archives: god tests us

October 11, 2019 · 5:48 AM

Tests Are Good

Think back to when you were in school. How often did you ask the teacher to give you a test? If you were like most kids, that would be never. Kids hate tests. You never knew if you were studying the right thing. You didn’t know how hard the test would be either. The question was always, “What is the minimum effort I need to exert on studying in order to pass this test?” When you didn’t study or prepare for the test, your grade reflected it too. Why? Because tests are designed to challenge you and to cement knowledge in your brain. They tell your brain, this is important. Put it in long term memory versus short term.

Tests are actually a good thing. If you have studied and are prepared, then they’re not going to stress you out. There are several verses in the Bible where people asked God to test them. Their lives were constantly ready for any test God might give them in order to cement their faith. Those tests proved what they knew, but they also exposed blind spots and weaknesses. You might not think so, but that’s a good thing. If we know where and what those are, we can guard them or seek the Holy Spirit’s help in those areas. If we’re going to keep drawing closer to God, we need to be asking for tests.

Here are some Bible verses on asking for tests.

1. Lord, you can scrutinize me. Refine my heart and probe my every thought. Put me to the test and you’ll find it’s true.

Psalms 26:2 TPT

2. O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, you test those who are righteous, and you examine the deepest thoughts and secrets.

Jeremiah 20:12 NLT

3. Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart; Test me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.

PSALMS 139:23-24 AMP

4. Then I said, “GOD -of-the-Angel-Armies, you’re a fair judge. You examine and cross-examine human actions and motives. I want to see these people shown up and put down! I’m an open book before you. Clear my name.”

Jeremiah 11:20 MSG

5. You have put us to the test, God; as silver is purified by fire, so you have tested us.

Psalm 66:10 GNT

Photo by Ben Mullins on Unsplash

1 Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

May 3, 2016 · 5:30 AM

Doctor’s Visit


Imagine you had a medical issue that worried you. The first thing you would do is visit your doctor and ask them to examine you thoroughly. You’d want them to run tests to find the problem, then to tell you what the solution would be to bring healing to your body. We would want the doctor to be honest with us about the problem and the treatment, and we would be willing to endure just about anything to be cured.

Now imagine you went to God in prayer and asked Him to examine your life, your thoughts, and your heart to find anything wrong. Why did the thought of that make you uncomfortable, but the thought of asking a doctor the same thing didn’t? For some reason, we think we can hide things from God. Adam and Eve tried it in the garden, and we’ve been trying it ever since. We think of we don’t invite God into those areas, we can keep doing things our own way.

Since God knows everything, He already sees the areas of our lives we try to keep hidden. He knows the thoughts we think and the attitude of our heart too. So do we not ask Him to examine us because we don’t want to hear what He will tell us? Imagine if you used that same logic with the doctor. If we wouldn’t do that with our physical body, why would we with our spiritual life? If you pretend there’s not a problem, it doesn’t mean it’s not there. It just means you’re not addressing it.

In Psalm 139:23-24 David prayed one of the toughest prayers. He prayed, “Examine me, O God, and know my mind; test me, and discover my thoughts. Find out if there is any evil in me and guide me in the everlasting way” (GNT). He knew the only way to get better spiritually is to ask God for an examine. He wanted God to dig into the dark, hidden places of his life so that God could lead him in the everlasting way. If we want God to do the same for us, it’s time we gave Him permission to examine us and to give us the cure.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

November 19, 2015 · 6:12 AM

Refined Faith

  

We don’t have a choice of whether or not we will go through hard times. What we do have a choice in, however, is how we choose to respond. We can choose to look at hard times as if God is against us or that He’s making us stronger for something down the road. Some times they are a consequence of a past mistake. God rarely takes away consequences when we’ve chosen to disobey. No matter what though, He always offers us grace to endure.

God purifies our faith through hard times. I once watched an episode of “Gold Rush Alaska” on Discovery channel. Parker, who runs his grandfather’s mine, had been working all summer for gold. He took what looked like a lot of gold to the gold refinery. They heated it up and kept removing the dross from the top. In the end, he had a small bar no bigger than his hand. Though it was a small amount, it was worth more because it was pure.

God does that with our faith. He send us through the fire to remove the dross so our faith is pure. It may seem small afterwards, but it is more precious than gold. When I’m going through hard times, I like to read these verses. I hope they help you too.

1. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.

Psalms 23:4 NLT

2. My brothers and sisters, consider yourselves fortunate when all kinds of trials come your way, for you know that when your faith succeeds in facing such trials, the result is the ability to endure.

James 1:2-3 GNB

3. Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner.

1 Peter 4:12-13 MSG

4. The righteous person faces many troubles, but the LORD comes to the rescue each time.

Psalms 34:19 NLT

5. But He knows the way that I take [He has concern for it, appreciates, and pays attention to it]. When He has tried me, I shall come forth as refined gold [pure and luminous].

Job 23:10 AMP

6. For You, O God, have proved us; You have tried us as silver is tried, refined, and purified.

Psalm 66:10 AMP

7. The purity of silver and gold is tested by putting them in the fire; The purity of human hearts is tested by giving them a little fame.

Proverbs 27:21 MSG

8. Their purpose is to prove that your faith is genuine. Even gold, which can be destroyed, is tested by fire; and so your faith, which is much more precious than gold, must also be tested, so that it may endure. Then you will receive praise and glory and honour on the Day when Jesus Christ is revealed.

1 Peter 1:7 GNB

9. I have refined you, but not as silver is refined. Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering.

Isaiah 48:10 NLT

10. We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

Romans 5:3-5 NLT

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,