THIS IS A TEST! THIS IS ONLY A TEST!

James 1:2-3  Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides.   You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. 

At first this glance these verses have a tendency to frustrate some people, yes I am including me on this one.  As I glare at the verses with an attitude of "Are you kidding me?  You really expect me to consider it a gift when I am tested?"   Let me be quite honest here, I hate tests!  In school when I knew there was going to be a test, my heart would start racing, my blood pressure would rise, my mind would fill with memories of what I learned in class and I would panic.   Why?  I had studied, I had prepared for it so why did I feel this way?  Well I wanted to pass the test.  Simple as that.  I wanted my parents to be proud of me, I wanted to prove to the teacher that I was smart, I wanted to prove to myself that I was smart.  Unfortunately I didn't always do well with tests.  

In life we have tests and trials and storms and challenges that seem to bombard us.  It seems like every corner we turn there is another hurdle to jump over.  These tests can overwhelm us and cause us to question God?  "Listen God I know you said you would not give me more than I can handle, but I think you have overestimated my strength."   "Listen God this isn't funny.  Why are you doing this to me?"  "Who do you think I am?"  "What are you thinking?"  Oh I could go on and on with statements that we tend to scream out to God when we are going through a test.  It just doesn't seem fair for God to allow us believers to endure any testing.

First of all God isn't the one testing us, Satan is.  God allows these tests to see how strong our faith is.  Just like Job, Satan wants to test us.  He wants to see how much we can handle and if we will give up and curse God during the tests.  Job's wife told him to "curse God and die" (Job 2:9).  But Job didn't.  he endured much more than we ever will, yet he remained faithful.  Israel faced many tests in the desert and ended up wandering around in the desert for 40 years (it was an 11 day journey).  Some of the Israelites never made it to the promised land because they lost faith in God.  

Think about this the next time a test comes your way, God thinks so highly of you and your faith that He has the confidence that no matter what Satan throws at you, you will remain faithful.  The scary thing about tests is the teacher is always silent during a test.  God is silent sometimes during our tests.  He wants to see what we're made of.  He wants to know if what is say we believe, is really real.  

Ah yes, our true colors do show when we are going through a test.  Our faith is forced out in the open for all to see and hear.  Tests come in a variety of sizes and a variety of intensities.  For example we may endure a simple test of being patient in the checkout lane at the supermarket.  We may be tested when going through rush hour traffic when we are already late for work.  Or we may be tested in ways we don't even want to think about.  The thing about tests is that we will keep taking the same test over and over and over and over again until we pass it.  

"Consider it a sheer gift" this seems hard to understand but I have found through my own tests that when I try to stay positive and focus on the promises of God, the test can be much shorter and less intense.   I figure it this way;  God knows me better than I know myself.  If I allow Him to handle this test and I don't stress out, He will work it all out for my good.  God has a plan for my life.  It is for good and not disaster.  To give me a hope and a future. I must trust Him during a test and remain faithful.  I must have confidence in Him alone.   And even though He may be silent in my test, I can turn to His word which will keep me strong.

I have been through tests and though they are not easy, I always end up learning a lot about myself and my God.

Lord, thank you for the tests that have grown my faith in you.  Thank you for allowing your word to minister to me when you are silent.  I trust in you!  I rely on you!  My confidence lies in you!  Help my faith continue to grow, in Jesus name I pray, amen!