Faith Test
And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6
Me – b—i—g g—a—p – completion at the day of Christ Jesus.
This week God has been driving home His lesson for me that He uses trials to grow us in faith and understanding of who He is. Peter tells us that trials shouldn’t surprise us but – as I have said before (His Way or Mine?) sometimes I do get surprised by them.
As I have studied James MacDonald’s book, “When Life is Hard” God has shown me many things. For instance, I find myself in a set of circumstances that I believed were some else’s problem. What I’ve learned is that my part of it is actually a trial from Him for me. He is going to use it to fill in a piece of that gap between who I am now and who God wants me to be when I meet Jesus.
Up until now I have concentrated on what someone else should be doing, saying, thinking, and even feeling about this whole situation. This week I clearly heard from the Lord – through the book – that this is my trial and I am to discern what I should be saying, thinking, and feeling. Trials are a lot easier when we think they belong to someone else!
The greatest temptation when I realized this was my battle was to cut and run and hope someone else takes up the fight later. In James 1:1-3 he tells us to, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
Steadfast, according to James MacDonald, means to “remain under.” It looks to me like these verses say if we want to be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing that we need to remain under our trial. When we do God can produce in us what He has purposed for our lives, the stuff that closes the gap between what we are now and what we will be.
Personally, I think that this is what will bring the joy that James mentions in verse 1. If we reject the trial and run too soon we may never receive the blessings that God has for the one who remains in the fight – under the trial. We choose to walk away from the joy of the Lord.
Another major point that is brought out through the teaching of these scriptures in the book is that trials are to test our faith. MacDonald suggests that we ask ourselves three questions as we go through trials. 1. Do I believe that God is in control? (He also suggests that any answer must have scriptural support.) 2. Do I believe that God is good no matter what I see, no matter what I face? 3. Will I wait on Him in faith until the darkness comes to light?
It’s easy to say that God has our best interest at heart when times are good. I love to think about His goodness when life is easy. But will you and I believe that when life is hard? Ultimately He will use every circumstance in our lives to grow us up spiritually, to help us see His goodness in the darkest moments.
“But He knows the way that I take and when He has tried me I will come out as pure gold.” Job 23:10 Gold that never goes through the refiner’s fire will never be a beautiful jewel. A person who never gets tried by God will never have all that God has planned for them. Every Christian has a gap in their character and every Christian will face trials by God’s design. They are only fruitful if we remain and learn what God has to teach us.
The hard part is to not run, not complain, and not fold under the pressure – the normal human responses according to the book. I will be praying for steadfastness in my trials and understanding of God’s purposes in them.
And you? Will you pray for God’s will to be done while you remain under the pressures he has allowed in your life? When we do, the gap closes sooner.
It may be of help to read, “When Life is Hard” by James MacDonald. Don’t expect more comfort than knowing God has a purpose in our trials. Do expect a great challenge to hang in there for the good that God has for all of us when we endure the trials of life.