Growing in Jesus

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. (James 1:2-4)

I bet there aren't too many of us that actually think trials are good for us, much less that God could actually allow more than a few of them to come our way. Trials are meant to test our faith - period. Within the trial comes the chance to really show who it is we serve and what it is we believe. In other words, we are showing God we put him first and rely upon him for all we have need of in our lives. It is in the midst of the trial that our 'true self' emerges. It is within the trial that we see how much we rely upon ourselves through the knowledge we have amassed, or our ability to 'reason it out' on our own.

These trials may not be easy, but they actually put our faith in God to the test. They aren't enjoyable - we don't actually welcome them with open arms. Within the trial, without us even realizing this is happening, our faith is put to the test. The test actually reveals how much we will lean into God, and it often reveals areas where we have been too prideful to allow God to do any work. There are always life lessons to be learned, and believe it or not, the most frequent place we learn them is right smack in the middle of the trial. The good news is that we can be quick learners. The bad news is that sometimes we need to repeat the lesson because we didn't get it the first time!

The other thing we need to keep in mind is that trials are 'assured' - in other words, they cannot be avoided forever. We will eventually face a trial that will begin to uncover things within us that need exposure. Either we embrace the work God is about to do through that trial, or we resist it and assure ourselves we will face it again, just in a different way. Sometimes the trials are quick and relatively painless. At others, we have a lot of angst and struggle because the trial is about to expose something much deeper and that has been affecting our heart way too long. God isn't trying to 'hurt' us, but it may hurt a bit. Just because it hurts doesn't mean he isn't with us in the midst of it!

The goal of the trial is that we may actually grow a little - leading us to the place where our faith doesn't lack anything. Sometimes we don't realize what is lacking until we are in the trial. We think all is well within our hearts and minds, but the trial helps to reveal where it is we haven't seen growth yet. Maybe there are buds of growth, but the trial will help the roots of that growth take hold and go deep. Remember this - maturity isn't instant - it is slow and steady - it is never-ending. Just sayin!

Tried and True

But he knows where I am going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold. For I have stayed on God’s paths; I have followed his ways and not turned aside. I have not departed from his commands,
but have treasured his words more than daily food. (Job 23:10-12)

There are probably more times when you don't know exactly where your life is headed than there are the times you are 100% certain where everything will work out as planned. The good news is that God knows where we are headed, and he has prepared the path we walk upon. Stay on the path and you will come out the other side of this present journey tried and true.

Following God's ways in the midst of 'not knowing' is harder than it sounds. We want certainty, but God isn't always going to show us the end from the beginning. We just need to stay the course and trust him even when it doesn't seem like 'all is well'. Job didn't have a great perspective from the top of a dung pile, but he remembered to constantly seek God regardless of where life put him!

Is faith tested when all is well in our lives? Not usually. It takes a bit of a challenge to 'test' anything, doesn't it? You fill the inner tube with air and dunk it under water to see if it is 100% sealed. You rev the engine to a certain amount RPMs to see if it will endure the expansion heat and friction causes. Testing involves a certain amount of pressure - the very pressure we may not want or welcome!

Predetermine to stay the course - even when you don't have 100% certainty about what you will encounter along the way. You can know this for sure - God prepares the path, sets the course, and maintains us along the way. We just need to press in, remember what he has said in his Word, and allow it to sustain us as we traverse the 'testing ground of faith'. Just sayin!

Why this test?

So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?” Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together. When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!” “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.” (Genesis 22:6-12)

The long-awaited heir - a sacrifice to the Lord? How could this be required of Abraham? Yet, when God asked him to 'go and sacrifice him as an offering', Abraham did not hesitate. No, he didn't want to kill his son. No, he didn't want to lose what he had waited so long to realize in his life. But...he loved God above all this world offered and would do as he was asked - not because he 'had' to, but because he 'desired' to do all God asked. I wonder how deep our faith would be if we were asked to do something similar - offer up to God something we held so dear? Would we hold back? Would we hesitate a bit, but then go and do as we were asked? Or would we respond with immediate obedience? I have to be honest - I have done a whole lot of the hesitating, but whenever my heart gets to the point where I desire obedience over my own pleasure or desires, the faithfulness of God has always been there!

Imagine the faith it took for Abraham to take what he held so dear and prepare to do as he was asked. He had to find the wood, go out until he found the mountain God showed him to ascend for the offering, and then take his dearest thing to that place. All the while, what would his emotions have been going through? They were probably pulling at his heartstrings! This was his son, but his heart was God's, so he probably prayed that God would have his way in his life - even if it required the greatest sacrifice of all. Is our heart God's first? Are we willing to set our gaze on him and then not look back? Are we willing to prepare for what may be the hardest thing God asks us to do, knowing we might just struggle with the 'emotion' of it all? When we have a surrendered heart, the journey may not be easy, but it is one where trust is inherent in each step we take along the way.

What do you think happened to Abraham when he heard God's voice through that angel? Might it have been extreme relief? As a father, it probably was, but as a child of God, it might have been something like, "Ah, I knew you'd provide what I would have gladly given, God!" At the very moment where compromise could have ended it all, God knew the matter of obedience was settled in Abraham's heart. Maybe we are being asked to take that step of obedience, but will we hesitate? Will we hold back? Will we be willing to 'go all the way', even if it costs us what we hold the dearest? When our heart is so set on obedience, God will ALWAYS be there as we take each step to prepare for the journey, as well as when we reach that 'final destination' of our faith. We take each struggle of emotion and lay it at his feet, then put one foot in front of the other, believing without wavering. When we might not see him the clearest, we can feel him the closest! God might test our faith from time to time, but it may be so we can see just how faithful he is and always will be in our lives. Just sayin!

For just a little while

So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls. (I Peter 1:6-9)

One of the hardest things for some of us to come to grips with is that we have to face and endure trials. Yes, the timeframe may be limited, but why on earth do we have to face them at all? Peter was writing to a group of believers who were likely facing great persecution on a daily basis, yet he tells them to rejoice and take hope. How is it possible to rejoice in the midst of hard things like this? I think Peter wants us to realize these things are only temporary - they are for a little while. They will not endure, but when our faith is put to the test in the midst of these trials, it will emerge even stronger and purer than before the trials came our way. We don't have to understand how fire purges to see the beauty of what is produced - we just need to know the fire is necessary to bring forth the beauty of what would otherwise be hidden.

A trial has a way of changing our focus - we get a little less earthly focused and turn our eyes toward our heavenly Father just a bit more. We 'lean in' and find our foothold in him, not in our own strength. Most of the trials I have endured did more than just change my focus - they showed me where I am the weakest and where I have been attempting to compensate for that weakness in my own power or effort. If a trial can do that for us, maybe they aren't something to be dreaded, but something we might want to embrace. Another thing I have realized in each trial is that God never abandons me to my own devices - he remains with me, surrounds me with his love, and walks me through the trial. If a trial can help us see him just a little better, isn't it worth it?

A lot of things will attempt to shake our faith in this world, but a 'tested faith' is not likely to be shaken. Yes, there will be some 'shaking', but it won't take us down. It will bring to the surface that which needed exposure, as well as help us send down roots just a bit deeper into the soil of our faith. A tree without wind will not send down strong roots. The wind challenges the tree to 'take hold' in much the same way a trial challenges us to consider where we find our 'hold' in life. If it is only surface deep faith, we will likely crumble in the midst of the shaking. If we face each trial with the determination to set our roots deeper, we are likely to develop a strength of faith that is anchored well. Just sayin!

Afraid to ask?

 Search me, O 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. (Psalm 139:23-24)

Have you ever prayer a similar prayer? It is a kind of scary thing to ask God to test your heart and mind to see if there is any offensive stuff there, isn't it? You almost don't want to ask because you know there is! When God points out what 'offends' him, he doesn't do it to humiliate us, or even to chastise us. He does it to show us how deeply he loves us - because he wants us to be free of all that garbage that takes up emotional, mental, or physical space in our lives.

To be led, one must submit to the one leading. To be whole, one must submit to the one capable of ridding us of all the stuff that keeps us 'broken' and 'hurt'. When we don't know the way, we seek guidance via a mapping service, GPS, or the good old way of asking someone for directions. Why do we not ask God to show us where our lives are actually being held 'captive' by our thoughts, emotions, or past hurts? Perhaps it is because we have held onto those things for so long that we just don't see any way past them. There is always a way when we ask God to show us the way.

Do you think God really doesn't know our hearts without that 'testing' process our psalmist is seeking? He does, but have you ever considered that the 'testing' process is really a way of getting us to know our own hearts as well as God knows them? Maybe we are turned off by the term 'test', because we think testing has a negative connotation. Yes, testing includes investigation and analysis, but it also involves a certain amount of 'corroboration' - affirmation, validation, and verification. We likely know a bit of what is there, but when we ask God to test our hearts, we are asking him to 'validate' or 'verify' what we believe to be there. 

There is nothing that delights his heart more than to hear us ask for his view into our minds and heart. He won't shame us, but he will help us see the healing that is possible when he is given access to those areas that have held us captive for so long. So, don't hesitate to ask - you might just be dazzled by what you discover with his help! Just sayin!