Very often, when a Christian is under attack, or suffers some personal pain or loss, he or she will say, “I’m going through a trial.” Really? Can that be true?
If they are blaming the devil, not God, that’s a good start. To say God is testing them, with evil, is simply not Bible. But to say the devil is testing them, could be missing the real seriousness of the attack. Jesus said, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, kill, and destroy.” (John 10:10) He is saying that whenever the devil comes around, it is to steal, kill, and destroy – not to play little “testing” games. When Satan attacks, you are certainly being tested, but that is not his end purpose. Failing the test, really means that Satan steals, kills, and destroys… and YOU and yours are his victim.
Jesus goes on to say in that same verse, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” How’s that for contrast? Like night and day. Or life vs. death. Whatever God does… even His kind of testing and proving, is so that we might have life… abundantly. In the 34 places I see in the Bible that refer to God testing or proving a man, it’s to give a man an opportunity to demonstrate faith and obedience… to change and grow, and climb higher… to receive promises, favor, and blessings. It is never to hurt or discourage, or weaken a man’s faith. Jesus is the “author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2), not a destroyer of faith.
There are lots of different kinds of trials and tests in life. Opposition and persecution are trials of your faith and commitment. When you are betrayed by friends, or mistreated, or taken advantage of, your love is being tested. Any time you go into battle against the forces of darkness, whether offensively or defensively, your strength and preparedness is put to the test. When God speaks a promise or a commandment to you, you’re in a kind of test of how you will respond. Powerful gifts of ministry, or great revelations from God, will test your humility. Waiting for a fulfillment of prophecy, or a delayed answer to prayer, or even delayed judgment of the wicked, can try your faith & patience.
Will you hold fast, and believe and obey, like Abraham, when he was tried (or tempted)? (See Hebrews 11:17 & Genesis 22:1) If so, you “pass the test”, and receive the promises and favor from God. That’s God’s intent, and His hope. But as long as you have a free will, you can choose not to believe, and “fail the test”. God, however, would never let His children be put in a test that they can’t pass. Or see how much a man can take before he breaks. He loves us. He wants to bless us!
Look at Matthew 15:21-28. I can only think of 2 people in the Gospels, of whom Jesus said that they had “great faith”. This woman of Canaan is one. She cried out to Jesus for her daughter who was grievously vexed with a devil. But Jesus “answered her not a word”. Was her faith being tested right then? You know it was. Was Jesus trying to discourage her? Or deprive her of a blessing? Or cause her faith to fail? Not at all. He was giving her an opportunity to demonstrate the great faith that He knew was in her.
No doubt, Satan was also there, speaking doubt and despair in her ear, and trying to use people (even Jesus’ own disciples) to rob her of the blessing. In reality, she was facing dual tests. One by Jesus’ silence, and even some of His words that could have been mistaken as an insult. The other by Satan’s attempts to get her to give up and quit, leaving her daughter tormented. What did she do? She continued to cry out, in faith, undeterred. She passed the test. She got her request, and more. And because she was tested, and prevailed, her testimony has ministered encouragement to countless others over centuries of time.
What about when a person has stumbled and failed, and Satan has already struck? At a time like that, the devil wants to pile on with feelings of abandonment, weakness, condemnation, and despair. The test is… what are you going to do NOW? Will you refuse to blame God, and instead, thank Him for His mercy? Will you now believe God…not the liar? Will you reject the voices of guilt, and condemnation, and bitterness? Will you accept God’s forgiveness, and the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ? Will you rise up and use the weapons God has given you… the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God… and the shield of faith? Will you take on His wisdom, and His strength? Will you set your eyes on the prize ahead, forgetting those things which are behind?
If you do, God can take what Satan meant for your destruction, and turn it into amazing victory. And make you a shining testimony of the goodness of God, for generations to come.
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