Patience: God's Wisdom for MomsSýnishorn

Facing the Tests of Life

Unemployment. Divorce. Infertility. The death of a father. The illness of a child. The cruelty of an acquaintance. The betrayal of a friend.

There comes a time when our faith is tested deliberately by God—not so we will be overcome but so we might grasp the validity of our faith and know it to be real. From God’s hand comes the cumulative exam designed to reinforce our learning about him and his work in our lives.

Someone likened this process to the kite flyer who takes the string of a kite and runs until the kite ascends into the sky. The kite will not rise without the wind. Wind is necessary for a kite to fly, and kites rise not with the wind, but against it. So it is with us. We will not rise to patience and maturity unless we ascend against trials.

Scripture tells us that Job was a blameless and upright man who feared God and shunned evil (see Job 1:1). At Satan’s challenge, God allowed Job’s faith to be put to the test — that Job might show himself to be faithful and God to be God.

God’s desire is that we meet our tests not with the bleary eyes of worried novices but with the confidence of students who are well acquainted with the words of their Professor. Layer upon layer, God is educating us about how he has worked in our lives and in the lives of those we love.

How are you doing on the “test” of today?