Faith Comes With Test

It pays to remind ourselves that faith comes with tests; otherwise, it would be easy to draw wrong conclusions when they occur. Ironically, most probably don’t recognize trials as being tests. One reason is they simply don’t think in those terms. For instance, when difficulties arise, they merely consider them as harsh realities of life. When we’re in the thick of it, it’s easy to lose sight of the spiritual aspects involved.

James 2:2-4 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing (NASB).

There is a proving process involved. Meaning, it’s one thing to say, “I have faith,” but it’s quite another to actually live it. A person doesn’t fully know if he is actually waking by faith, until the proving comes. God knows, and He know what we need to be conformed to the image of Jesus. This process eliminates hypocrisy, and draws us deeper in our relationship with God.

The Process of the Test

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

In essence, faith is the unseen reality of the thing of which one hopes, and hope is a firm persuasion of the promise or Word. In God’s reality, hope is not wishful thinking in the way so many use the term. It is a promise or prophetic Word that will surely come to pass. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Hope involves waiting and endurance. It is something that’s considered at hand, versus what is already in hand.

Romans 8:24-25 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it (KJV).

Faith comes by hearing a Word from God, which comes in a variety of ways. When it comes, people often feel exuberant. That’s the usual initial response. Then, comes the test, and that test may include circumstances that appear to be the polar opposite of the promise. One biblical example is Abraham who was promised he would be a father of many nations, even though Sarah was beyond her child-bearing years (Read Genesis 11:26-50:26; Romans 4:1-25; Hebrews 11:8-11, etc.). If the Promise wasn’t true, you would not be reading this right now.

When opposing circumstances arise, one may be tempted to question the authenticity of the Word. “Did God really say?” “Was that a false prophesy?” “Did I hear that correctly?” And the questioning comes in a variety of ways. Some of those questions may arise from others, which includes opposing “evidence.” Either way, it’s part of the process of learning how to trust the Word. How to trust Him!  

Endure Until the End!

James 1:12 Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him (NASB).

The ones who obtain the promise are the ones who endure until the end.

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