Well Lit Soul

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Testing is Learned

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~5 min read

Hi there! Welcome to Well Lit Soul. Where we seek God, face darkness, and shine brighter. This season of the blog is all about learning. So today’s blog is called “Testing is Learned”.

As a lifelong learner and educator, I’ve spent a lot of time preparing for tests and helping others do so as well. I’ve spent years helping students learn to take tests in order to demonstrate what they have learned. And these are usually stressful times because you may or may not feel prepared and there are often grades attached that can potentially have lasting impact on your future. It’s a lot of pressure mentally and emotionally. And I could spend ages talking about what we could do better about preparing students for tests, but that’s not what this blog is about. I want to instead focus on how we handle tests that happen beyond school, but in the classroom of life. And you guessed it, our instructor is none other than the Creator of the universe. God Almighty.

And what I’ve learned over the years is that God consistently tests us. Now, you may be thinking to yourself, “is that right? What about the scripture from 1 Corinthians?”. I’m glad you brought that up! Let’s look at 1 Corinthians 10:13. It says,

“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

A wonderful passage, but sometimes it gets misinterpreted and is often understood as ‘God will not put more on you than you can handle’. Which is absolutely not what is being said. Paul was speaking to the church in Corinth and warning them of the sinful ways of past generations that may still be tempting. But Paul reassured them that God will not allow you to endure temptation that may lead to sin that you cannot overcome to remain righteous and holy. However, we do know that people throughout scripture were very much tested in their walk with God. 

We learn why God tests us in Deuteronomy 8:2 which says,

“And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.”

And it makes sense because I can only imagine how heartbroken God was by Adam and Eve when He provided them paradise on earth but they disobeyed His commands. So to ensure that we will honor Him and His ways on earth and in heaven, God tests us to see the quality of our faith and commitment to Him. Verse 3 confirms this in saying,

“So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.”

The rest of chapter 8 gives more context and insight into how and why God tests us, so it’s worth reading in full. It makes me think of this quote I heard in college, “sometimes God puts you on your back so you’re forced to look up”.

So the main question now is, how do we prepare for and pass these tests? We prepare by understanding the purpose and process for the tests. We know the reason God tests us is to evaluate our commitment to Him and His ways in our hearts, 2 Thessalonians 2:4 and Hebrews 11:17. And He does this not by tempting us, which could lead to sin, but by allowing trials and tribulations in life to show and shape our character. Because as we see in Romans 5, James 1, and 1 Peter 1 testing shows the genuineness of our faith through our willingness to rejoice in suffering knowing the promise of salvation and eternal life gives us hope, which is more precious than gold. 

And like everything we’ve discussed thus far, none this is easy. But when we choose to be Christians, this is what we are signing up for. We are walking into a long journey of trials and tribulations. But we choose to persist in the suffering knowing God’s promises await us. And we will absolutely fail along the way. But God is not grading us on a curve. He judges our lives individually and if we live righteously and according to His will, we do not have to fear His judgment because He is merciful and gracious. If He approves of the way we have lived on earth, He will welcome us to live with Him in heaven where there is no death, sorrow, tears, or pain, Revelation 21:4-7. If not, we will live in eternal darkness without Him. 

So when we face tests, trials, and tribulations, know it’s an opportunity to show God what we have learned, how we have grown in Him, and how we will remain committed to Him. 

Connection Question: What is your experience with tests of your faith? How would you like to prepare differently for the next ones? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to connect with you about it?