The Test
Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him:
On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him:
But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined. Job 23:8-11
Job was going through a hard time here and it was more than just a bad day. I’m sure many can relate to how Job felt in the sense that there have been times when you couldn’t seem to find God no matter which way you turned. Maybe you’re there now, but know that God hasn’t left. He still sees and knows exactly where we are. He knows our every move and exactly how we feel. He doesn’t miss a thing, even when we feel like He does.
Job was not going through a hard time because of anything he had done wrong, but quiet the opposite. Yet, he did try to justify himself to his friends, while he should have waited on God. But, just because we are going through a hard time, doesn’t always meant that we’ve done something wrong or that we are somehow deserving of it, even if we don’t understand why. You can do everything right and stuff can still go wrong, life can still be messy and hard to maneuver through. Even the righteous suffer. Job did, and Jesus did. It rains on the just and the unjust.
Satan was allowed to test Job for a season. Job was a good man, God said so but Satan however thought that he would end up cursing God after it was all said and done. His own wife even told him to curse God and die, but God knew better. Job understood that God saw and knew the way that he took even though he didn’t understand what was going on. Job said that he’d come out of the trial as gold. Like I said, he should have waited on God before speaking too soon and that was his error. He wasn’t even slightly capable of understanding what God was trying to do and he somehow wanted to prove himself. Sound familiar? He didn’t understand why God would allow this and he seemed to argue and question God’s motives. But, after God had spoken personally with Job, and showed Him Who He really was, Job perceived God in a whole new light. In a more real way than ever imaginable.
Let’s talk about the coming forth as gold part. From what I understand, when gold goes through a heat process, it comes out refined and stronger, without all the impurities. When it is at its melting point as we sometimes are, that’s when the impurities are separated from the gold and later washed out. The same thing happens when the heat is turned up in our lives. If God’s allowing it, then there’s a reason for it. He may be pruning us, He may be trying us, the devil may be tempting us, but if we are being tested, remember: we all know without a test, there is no testimony.
It may be the little offenses that add up daily to trip us up or it may be a downright trial or trust issue that we are going through, feeling like it might break us. But God wants to make us better and stronger, more like Him and better apt to be able to handle things like Jesus; to see him in a different light. Jesus was persecuted, misunderstood, hated without cause, tempted by Satan and much more. He felt alone right before the cross. He felt forsaken. Yet, He was perfect. He was God in the flesh. He made no mistakes; even though He was troubled, He still persisted . We aren’t perfect but we can persist and we can be sure that He is perfecting us through our trials. He works it all out for our good and His glory.
God tested King Hezekiah’s heart, we find in 2 Chronicles 32:31. The scripture said that God withdrew from him, in order to test him, that He might know all that was in his heart. He wants to show us what’s within us so that He can get anything out of us that don’t belong. (Thanks Josh 😉, my brother, for teaching me this truth. We will keep going back to the same test or around the same mountain until we pass the test and even then, there’s always life lessons to learn. God ain’t mad at us. He wants to teach and perfect us.)
When you and I feel like all is against us, we might be tempted to say, “I thought God said He’d never leave me or forsake me?” There are times when it feels like He has, but nothing could be further from the truth! We might leave or forsake Him but He will never but He will Never leave us. He might withdraw for a moment but He’s still right there. As we’ve heard it put, “the teacher’s always silent during a test”. The teacher hasn’t left, they’re just waiting; letting us take the test to see if we will pass, for that’s the whole goal. The Teacher Himself doesn’t want us to fail.
This silence is not to punish us, it’s to see what’s really inside of us, to build our faith, and to help us to learn and grow. It’s revealing us for sure but it’s either perfecting us or breaking us, depending on what’s inside of us. God gave Satan permission to test Job, but it was because He knew that He would come out better somehow, and He did! And we can too. All test aren’t this extreme. Some come in the form of things like, someone making us mad and how will we react or how will we respond? These situations are used as sandpaper. Don’t think it’s to torcher, this isn’t the goal. God doesn’t inflict us willing or just because he wants to.
Lamentations 3:40 tells us to “search and examine our own ways (to see what’s in us) and turn back to the Lord.”
If we wouldn’t inflict our child just because we can, why He would God do this to us? We are His children and He wouldn’t. He’s a good Father. So, even if He’s correcting, it’s for our own good somehow, because He disciplines those who He loves. Discipline is always for correction, not punishment. If you love your child, you correct them so that they won’t suffer for their decisions. Even if they don’t do anything wrong, you’re constantly teaching them what they do not know so that they will be better and better equipped in life WHEN they do face trials or opposition, because you know they will. It’s to sharpen them, never to defeat them.
The scripture says that all of our works that we’ve done here will one day become clear; because on judgment day, they will be revealed by fire. The fire will test each one’s work and reveal of what sort it is. The works will be burned up or rewarded accordingly, so if we do something here on earth for the wrong reasons other than with heart, then it will be burnt up. All the reward we would have gotten from these works, was in the moment we did them. However, if done with pure intent and heart, we will be rewarded. So don’t lose heart, keep doing what’s right.
It’s easy to be tempted to take the easy way out, to do what feels good for the moment or to even try to escape the pain but hold on child.
Last but not Least,
If God opened your heart, what would He find? What would you see? He already knows your heart and it’s condition, that’s what He looks at. Will we come forth as gold or lead? It’s good to examine our own hearts often, doing a heart check to check and question our motives; our why behind what we do, and see if it is pleasing to God. We check them against the Word of God and the attributes of Jesus. We check what fruits we are bearing whether or not they match the fruits of the Holy Spirit or contrary to. If our motives are ever to inflate self then it’s not holy. If it has a hidden agenda, then it’s not pure. Job was trying to convince that he was holy in a sense but we don’t have to prove that we are holy to anyone but God. He calls us to be by saying, “Be ye holy, for I am holy”. Yet, none of us are good on our own. It must all be to glorify Him. That’s why He told us to be salt and light, cities on hills, and to do good works so that others would glorify Him, not ourselves.. The light reveals Christ and His glory. We are to be salty so that others will be thirsty for what we have; we are not to lose our flavor or zeal. We are representing Jesus!
Trust always requires faith and we can never have either without unanswered questions or else why would we need them? Answered questions and perfect circumstance requires no faith at all because faith is for what we hope for and don’t yet have. What I have learned, is that trust requires obedience of some sort and obedience requires trust. You can’t have one without the other. Faith is obedience and without it, we can’t please God. We live by faith because we don’t even know what the next moment holds but we can believe. If we say we love God, we must ask ourselves, “do we do what pleases Him or do we do what profits us?”
It’s all about His Kingdom.
Simply He says:
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.” John 10:15
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” Matthew 7:21
God is looking for trust and action that aligns with what we confess, and hearts after Him.
Know that God is for you, not against you, so don’t be against yourself. He loves you and me, so much that He died for us while we were still yet in our sin. He wants us to either grow and/or course correct. He laid down His life for us so that we could and would live life more full and without all the sin that so easily weighs us down before we knew Him. He’s came to save us from out sin, from ourselves and from going our own way, because He is the way.
Let us not lose faith in the middle but hold on tight to hope and to be prisoners of it, not to defeat. God is our rescuer and He will rescue you out of whatever you are in, make a way of escape or He will make a way through it. Don’t faint and you’ll reap. The harvest comes after the wait. We don’t jump off in the dark, we wait until we see the light, trusting Him in the dark to bring us through the storm. It may be dark but the sun is going to shine on a better day.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place. Since you were precious in My sight, You have been honored, And I have loved you; Therefore I will give men for you, And people for your life. Isaiah 43:2-4
He loves you and is for you, you are precious in sight. He longs to be good to you and will bring you through.
If attacks seem to be coming at you from the right and left, make sure you’re putting on the full armor of God everyday and handling life His way. When you mess up, try again! After you have done everything you know to do, stand. Ephesians 6 tells us how to apply this armor. We must Stand firm in our faith or we don’t stand at all. For if we let go of faith, we fall. If we let go of Hope, we drift because hope is an anchor. If we don’t love, we aren’t powerful to overcome.
Dear Lord , forgive me for when my heart is not fully set on Yours. There was many in the Bible that faced hardships just like we do, and many imperfect people that you used. That gives me hope. King David wasn’t perfect but His heart was and that pleased you. He was a man after your own heart. Job was a good man that faced a very catastrophic time in his life but we see that you brought Him through. You restored back double after You revealed Yourself to Him and it is important to note, that after he had forgiven his false accusing friends. Unforgiveness and self justification separates us from YOU. He came out knowing you in a deeper way and trusting you more and more. Deeper relationship requires deeper faith and trust. You are trustworthy and so should I be. Job said that he had heard about You with his ear but now his eyes had truly seen you. You showed Him Who You really were. You were real to Him. Lord please help us to be more like Jesus, to please You in all we say and do. No one likes suffering or being tested and tried. But God, we cry out to You today, not only asking for relief but for You to help us to draw closer to You, Father, as You are revealing Yourself in a new way. We can have peace by being still and knowing that You are God, and we are not. It is in Your Sons name, Jesus, we ask, Amen!
A few lyrics from “Farther Along”
Temted and tried we're oft made to wonder
Why it should be thus, all the day long
While there are others, living about us
Never molested though in the wrong.
Farther along we'll know all about it
Farther along we'll understand why
Cheer up my brother live in the sunshine
We'll understand it all by and by.
