“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” (James 1:12)
When looking into the topic of why God tests our faith it is essential to first understand God’s intention with us, the meaning behind our faith, and the hope we have. God’s intention for His creation is to grant us true life. We are told, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11). We are called to be children of God, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1) and furthermore, his intention is to invite us into His family, to bless and grow us in love. However, in continuation with this theme of being children of God, a part of growing up involves growing pains. Discipline and learning right from wrong is a step that can’t be skipped. God, being a loving Father to us, does not neglect this job, “It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?... God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:5-7, 10- 11). Let’s dissect this statement. It tells us that some trials will be chastenings from the Lord. These tests are not meant to break us but to lead us nearer to God, and grow us into who He would have us be. This passage gives us encouragement through these tests, reassuring us that it is because we are His children that we endure difficulties. Why? So that, “we may share his holiness”, and have “righteousness and peace”. God’s intention is never to break our faith. The trials we are faced with have their purpose in that one day we may be made a perfect image of Him, and share in that glory.
Another motive behind the testing of our faith is in order to keep us near to God. Remembering and understanding God’s character, that He desires we bear fruit of love, joy, peace, etc (Galatians 5:22-23), allows us to truly grasp that these rebukes come not out of cruelty but out of a firm yet loving aim to mold us so that we can have true joy. Scriptures promise us, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act” (Psalm 37:4,5). But first we must be able to delight in the Lord, to be able to trust Him. Oftentimes this trust and delight comes as a result of trials or testing. Our love of God and His Son is deepened all the more when we realize how great His love is for us, and trust that He will not easily let us go astray. God will never leave nor forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:8), He will not abandon the work of his hands (Psalm 138:8), or not finish the good work He has begun in us (Philippians 1:6), when we are faithless He remains faithful (2 Timothy 2:13), and nothing can separate us from God’s love for us in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:38,39). While His love is constant and unconditional, our transformation is dependent on whether or not we can accept it. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20). We have to choose to open this door. And yet when we struggle, when we fall back into sin, God does not abandon us. He leaves the ninety-nine sheep to go after the lost one (Matt 18:12). When we stray He disciplines us, He tests us in order that we may be brought back, and that we may not stray again. He hurts us that He may heal, “Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds.” (Hosea 6:1), not because He desires to hurt, but so that we can feel the consequences of our sin, and return to His love. God will not give up on us because of the flaws of our character, rather He takes pains to correct them, in order that we may truly be transformed. Through experiences, although difficult, we will be able to truly be changed, genuinely, authentically, so that our love and goodness may not pour from forced responsibility, or our works, but from true love that results from abiding in Christ, and allowing our trials to shape us for good. Look at the story of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon who, having exalted himself went crazy, acting like a beast for 7 years. At the end of this madness he declares, “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.” (Daniel 4:37). This praise of the Lord is not an infrequent response to God’s testing, rather it is a pattern of thankfulness among those He has “afflicted”. Why? Because He does not punish us without cause, or discipline us without the promise of strengthening us. God hurts when we hurt. Our trials pain Him as much if not more than they pain us, but He is able to see the big picture that we cannot see. He permits the pain so that He can spare us much larger injury in the future. “For no one is cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone.” (Lamentations 3:31-33). Ultimately, these types of tests come to bring us back in harmony with God, “Before I was afflicted I went astray but now I obey your word…It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.” (Psalm 119:67,71). This motive is further explained in the book of Job, giving us insight into why God allows certain trials to befall mankind. “He may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings, to turn them from wrongdoing and keep them from pride, to preserve them from the pit, their lives from perishing by the sword. “Or someone may be chastened on a bed of pain with constant distress in their bones,..Yet if there is an angel at their side.. and he is gracious to that person and says to God, ‘Spare them from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom for them..then that person can pray to God and find favor with him, they will see God’s face and shout for joy; he will restore them to full well-being. And they will go to others and say, ‘I have sinned, I have perverted what is right, but I did not get what I deserved. God has delivered me from going down to the pit, and I shall live to enjoy the light of life.’“God does all these things to a person—twice, even three times— to turn them back from the pit, that the light of life may shine on them.” (Job 33: 16-19, 23-24, 26-30).
But what about when these tests feel less like lessons and more just trials and unjust persecution, struggles to endure rather than the loving discipline of a father? It is in these trials, where perhaps it feels undeserved, when they are to simply endure and bear, that our faith and trust in God is also strengthened. It is a difficult statement but it is also promised that “all that would live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” (2 Timothy 3:12). But this is not a means to despair but rather to rejoice! As strange as that may sound, the testing of our faith can be an encouragement that we are standing in God’s principles. We are told, “do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.” (1 Peter 4:12-14). A servant is not above his master nor is a student above his teacher. If Jesus, a man completely perfect, loving, and holy was hated and killed, and we are striving to become perfect reflections of his character, there is an expectation that we will likewise face some level of external persecution. But this remains aligned with the overall theme that it is not to break our spirit beyond repair. We are told “it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God… if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps… When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.” (1 Peter 1:19-21, 23). Let’s look to the example of our Lord. When he faced unjust persecution, what was his response? When God permits trials and persecutions of our faith, not because of wrong we have done but rather because we must suffer as our Lord did, it is so we can truly understand the effects of evil, the sinful and fallen world we live in. This can help us appreciate His goodness all the more, and teach us to trust our experiences “to Him who judges justly”. To remember when we are challenged and mistreated, and a part of us desires to retaliate, God sees it too. He sees our struggle, and He judges justly, and He will repay perfectly in his perfect time. Remembering this, in the testing of our faith, His perfect character can give us the strength to endure, forgive, and move through tests without resentment or bitterness but rather in growing love, knowing that we are loved and nothing can hurt us apart from what God has permitted, which will always work out for our eternal good.
In recognizing the beauty of God’s plan for all who love Him, let us not fear trials, testings or hardships that try to knock us down, but remember the words of David when he writes, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:23-24). To be able to pray “test me” trusting that these tests are permitted that we may truly be led in “the way everlasting”.
- A Follower of Christ