in today's society there is a need for everything to be comfortable and convenient the concept of God testing us can seem very strange to us we typically put hardships or trials into two categories either we dismiss them and just say life happens in one way or another or we point difficulties to Satan while both of these can be true there is a greater reality that God in his love and mercy he actually tests our faith this is the reality that we find in scripture for instance Proverbs 17:3 says the refining pot is for silver and
the furnace for gold but the Lord tests the hearts in other words just as silver and gold are purified by fire so the Lord purifies the hearts of Believers by fiery trials if you want to refine goal you use the furnace and if the heart of man is to be refined the Lord tests the heart that means that my faith and your faith must stand trial at one point or another and listen our natural tendency as humans is to think that if something seems unpleasant then it must not be from God but we must realize
that God sees things quite differently than we do not not only should we Embrace being tested and going through trials but James tells us that we should relish them James 1: 2-4 says dear brothers and sisters when Troubles of any kind come your way consider it an opportunity for great joy for you know that when your faith is tested your endurance has a chance to grow so let it grow for when your endurance is fully developed you will be perfect and complete needing nothing so our trials they are meant to make us complete so that
we lack nothing in God so that we become unwavering in our faith this changes the way we view hardships it changes how we respond to those difficult times in our lives the reality is that God is always at work in his children and the ultimate goal is that we become a reflection of Christ we are to be conformed into the image of Christ having our minds renewed and our hearts refined not only are we to Rejoice knowing that God is testing us as a good work in our lives but the Bible goes on to tell
us in James 1:12 blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because having stood the the test that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him and Saints when we endure when we keep moving forward and when we persevere through life's trials and tribulations there is a crown in heaven that awaits us the Crown of Life we lose the beauty of a testimony and what God is doing in us because we become so focused on on the trial that we take our eyes off of Christ however
the reality is that every trial gives us a testimony of God's goodness and his sovereignty every trial provides us with the working knowledge that God is still with us refining us molding us conforming us all because we are his children we are bought with the precious blood of Christ of course this doesn't mean that we ignore the difficulty in trials and hardships it's actually okay to acknowledge pain it's okay to admit to suffering or hurt or anguish it's okay to acknowledge frustrations and disappointments as long as we bring those things before our Lord in an
humble way and find peace through his word and in prayer ultimately we want to realize that the difficulty we face will cause us to depend on Christ and it's when we approach these challenges in faith believing and trusting that this is working for our good and that he's producing a good work in us it's when we do this that we truly reach a new level of spiritual maturity in Romans 5 veres 1-5 we find the entire order of Trials and what they produce if any passage of scripture was worth memorizing concerning trials and testing it
would be this one it says therefore since we have been made right in God sight by faith we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ Our Lord has done for us because of our faith Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God's glory 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 the Apostle Paul doesn't merely say we endure in Trials but he actually says we are to rejoice in our tribulations another way of saying that is to say that we should show great happiness or to be extremely joyful in our tribulations now that's a different way to look at things than what you probably grew up thinking ultimately trials bring us hope trials bring out the fire within us trials
help us to grow now perhaps the most significant benefit to being tested is found in 1 Peter 1 verse 7 where it says that the genuiness of your faith being much more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire may be found to praise honor and Glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ this is the goal that in the end once our faith is tested it results in US praising God glorifying God and honoring our Lord Jesus Christ remember that everything is all for God's glory it's all for him to be praised
and so when testing takes place in our lives we should always remember that he loves us and because we love him and we are called according to his purpose all things will work together for our good in Jesus name now let us go to God In Prayer dear master our prayer is from Psalm 139: 23- 24 search me oh God and know my heart test me and know my anxious thoughts point out anything in me that offends you and lead me along the path of everlasting life search US master and remove every evil thought every
impure and unclean thing within me within my character within my mind cleanse us of all unholiness Lord create in me a clean heart oh God and renew a right Spirit within me I pray that every trial that you send our way will accomplish a purpose if it's patience that you want to develop within us then may your will be done if it's self-control or humility that you want to develop within us may your will be done Lord I pray that even as our faith comes Under Fire let us not murmur or complain but instead may
we continually be found to be looking to you Lord Jesus I pray that you would give us the strength to stand when our faith is being tested I pray that you would give us a heart filled with joy even when we're being tested 1 Corinthians 15:58 says therefore my beloved Brothers be steadfast immovable always abounding in the work of the Lord knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain father make us steadfast make us immovable in our faith in you God whatever happens in this life may it not sway us from our
faith in your word should the miracle we pray for come to pass or not may you still be praised always should we be perplexed by any situations we encounter may you still be praised always father even when life appears to be falling apart when it's my season to be tested I pray that the Holy Spirit would help me to keep my eyes on Jesus Christ help me Holy Ghost so that I can realize that the Troubles of this life they're only temporary AR they're only momentary in comparison to the joy that awaits me in eternity
and so Lord I pray that you would help me and strengthen my character help me not to be someone who is only strong in faith when all is well but may I be strong in faith always regardless of the difficulties I'm facing your word in 2 Corinthians 13:5 it says examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith test yourselves or do you not realize this about yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you unless indeed you fail to meet the test father open my eyes so that I can examine myself help me to examine
my life against your word help me to examine my thoughts and conduct against what your word says a Believer should be and help me to be full of Integrity help me to be prayerful and to be full of love father thank you for hearing this prayer in Jesus name I pray amen the refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold but the Lord tests the hearts therefore since we have been made right in God's sight by faith we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ Our Lord has done for us because
of our faith Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God's glory 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 that the genuiness of your faith being
much more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire
