Walking by Faith One Day at a TimeSample

Practice Makes Perfect

Have you ever noticed that when we ask for patience, God provides ample opportunities to practice the virtue? In the same way, if we pray for peace, chaos abounds. When we start praying for a humble heart, pride rears its ugly head again and again.

As the saying goes, be careful what you wish for.

When we pray for these virtues, God tests us to see if we really mean what we say. These tests are not for His benefit; He already knows the outcome. Rather, God tests us so that we can gauge our own progress and strengthen our resolve. "In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions" (Exodus 16:4b).

It's easy to pray for change, but God seldom modifies our character overnight. Change is usually the result of test after test.

Do you remember taking the SATs in high school? You could take the test as many times as you wanted, as long as you were willing to invest the time and energy necessary to prepare. By taking the exam over and over, you could learn from past mistakes and improve your score for the next time.

Like taking the SATs, with each of God's tests we learn and grow. Where we see past mistakes, we can change our response for the future. God wants nothing less than our very best.

Consider the refining process of precious metals. The refiner turns up the heat, causing the impurities inside the metal to rise to the surface where unwanted fragments are easily skimmed away. With each test we face in life, ugly sin rises to the surface and is purged from our lives.

As we persevere through the trials of life, taking test after test, we will begin to reflect our Refiner more clearly. And we will grow in our faith.

Keep taking the test. After all, practice makes perfect.

Life Application

When was the last time it felt like you were being tested by God? What did you learn from that experience that you can apply to future tests?

Prayer

Lord, thank you for your patience during life's tests and trials, allowing me to try and even fail again and again. Help me to learn from past mistakes and apply the valuable lessons I've gained to future trials. I never want to waste the challenging times that come my way. I want to learn, grow, and develop a closer relationship with you day by day. Amen.