Tests just dont happen in highschool.

Every once in awhile I will stumble upon something from my Bible school days and I will go “Ohhh, wow!!!! This is EXACTLY what I needed to hear RIGHT NOW!” Today was one of those days! I was cleaning out some boxes of stuff from when I was in Bible school and I came across a handout about tests. It really just spoke to me, and I feel that I need to share it on here, So here it goes!


PASSING THE TEST!
Yeshua with disciples( John 6:6)
Children of Israel in wilderness( Deaut. 8:2) “They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways( Ps. 95:10). The ways of God with testing:
God is teaching us to live above our circumstances, not by them.
God not only frustrates us---He causes or allows our pain.
He is more concerned about what happens IN us than what happens TO us.
God doesn’t usually tell us when we are being tested. What is a Test? A test is a physical, psychological or spiritual trial that God uses to develop our character. It threatens our peace and joy. We will either pass or fail, responding to God or reacting to the test.

What are tests like?



Tests touch us all. They are common and universal in scope. James wrote “Consider it pure joy whenever face trials…” not “if you face trials”. Peter told suffering saints “ You know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of suffering ( 1 Peter 5:9). We also said not to be surprised when they come ( 1 Peter 4:12). Paul wrote “No temptation (one kind of test) has seized you except what is common to man” ( 1 Cor. 10:13)

Tests check our attitude. “Consider it pure joy…” Joy is not a normal response to trials. Your attitude will determine what you receive from the test. “Your attitude determines your altitude.”. The earlier you embrace the test as something God can use, the sooner you can pass it and receive the rewards that it brings. James says “Consider it pure joy when you face trials…”, not when you finish them. God makes it worth it to pass the tests. You don’t truly know me in pleasure, you know me in pain. When God “squeezes” us, what is on the inside comes out. When he squeezed Israel, complaining came out. When God squeezed Joseph, forgiveness came out.

Tests are varied “ Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds…” “…though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials” ( 1 Peter 1:6). Different physical exercises develop different muscles. Consider the variety of tests that “exercise” different areas of our life: finances, family, health, relationships, inner wholeness, habits, temptation, work, ministry. What kind of tests are YOU facing?

Tests can be friends “You know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance”. Paul said “we rejoice in our sufferings, because we KNOW that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character…”( Romans 5:3). It is what we KNOW that enables us to rejoice at the outset of hardships. Tests give us what we need and want the most---the fruit of the spirit, the character of Christ. What could be more important?

Tests bring tension Four truths about tension:
God often causes it
God always uses it
Tension precedes breath through
We must learn to steward tension Rather then trying to avoid or dismiss tension, we use it to confront and overcome
“Tension doesn’t mean something is wrong; it means something is happening”

Tests come from different sources Some are hand-crafted by God. Some are sourced in the devil. Some trials come our way by wrong decisions or actions, either ours or others. Some come from both God and the devil. Whatever the source, we are to “resist the devil and submit to God”. Other tools God uses in testing: difficult marriage, personal failure, overbearing boss, imperfect parents, hard co-workers, friends who misunderstand.

Tests are made to pass “ These have come so that your faith may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed” ( 1 Peter 1:7)
God doesn’t give us tests to flunk us. He gives us grace to pass. Satan tempts us to fail. He comes “”to lie, kill and destroy” ( John 10:10)

Tests get stronger as we grow Tests are harder in graduate school then in grade school. Mature believers more difficult tests. The greater the anointing, the greater the testing. Don’t envy those with strong anointing; just pass your tests.

Tests can confuse. Ask for wisdom Trials can raise questions about me: “Is this happening because I disobeyed in tenth grade?” or about God: “Is He really that good?” We must keep a true and Biblical picture of who God is and who we are in Him. Or tests will “unsettle” us ( 1 Thess. 3:3). Don’t let tests make you a victim, which brings passivity, or give you the feeling of entitlement: “I don’t deserve this”

Tests pass bring a reward “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him ( James 1:12). A crown ( “stephanos”) speaks of victory and authority. Tests bring us a new revelation of God, a new authority and confidence, a new joy.

Tests bring a testimony
Abraham: “So Abraham called that place ‘ The Lord will provide’ “ ( Gen. 22:14)
Joseph: “You intended to harm me, but God it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” ( Gen. 50:20)
David: “ They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support. He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me” ( Ps. 18: 18, 19) If you have ever thought, “I don’t have much of a testimony”, pass a test and get one!

Tests last “a little while” Peter writes, “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while you may have to suffer various trials…” ( 1 Peter 1:6,7 See also 1 Peter 5:10). What could James have said instead? “Consider it joy when you get through trials.” But he said to do it at the onset. Okay, try this in the Spirit: Consider it pure joy when people criticize you, when you are ignored, insulted, misunderstood or manipulated, and get read for a significant upgrade in your relationship with God and people. The things that often discourage us are meant to give us a deeper joy in the Lord!

I hope that everyone gets as much out of that as I did!

Shalom!