In the midst of our recent tests my wife and i needed to read Job. Before, we thought the test was too much for us, and we couldn't stand. Then we read Job, and realized, we were in a cake walk compared to him. If you read the first several chapters where it explains what happened, then the last, where it tells you how God redeemed Job your test will be easier.
Here's what happened. Job had everything: money, livestock, houses, servants, children, wife; and he had it all in a big way, we're talking thousands with the acception of kids and wife, extremely prosperous man. Then the test came, and they were all killed. Then his body was attacked with boils and sores. Then all his friends turned their backs on him and accused him of having committed a sin that brought this on. He had nothing left. But because he passed the test in the end he got everything back with an increase of 7 fold in some areas and 2 fold in others.
Relative to Job is your test really so bad that you cannot stand if he could?
The Word in James 1:2 says "Brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete lacking nothing."
Perfect and complete, lacking nothing; so if tests make us perfect and complete, lacking nothing then that means tests aren't just to see if we will stand; test must be to change us so that God can give us more. My pastor prays over us each week at the end of the service and one thing he asks is that we all prosper in five ways, Socially(more friends), Materially(more money, to give away), Physically(stronger bodies), Mentally(stronger minds), Spiritually(closeness to God, faith, annointing). The first four have to do with our lives being more abundant and are the things we would expect to receive after a test. But Spiritual prosperity is what is really on the heart of God and is what really matters. Spiritual prosperity consists of things that win souls and build up the body, the 9 fruit of the Spirit(love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness(humility), and self control) and the 9 gifts of the Spirit(Prophecy, Tongues, Interpretation of Tongues, Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge, Discerning of spirits, Gift of Healing, Gift of Miracles, and Gift of Faith) These things allow the power of God to be displayed, they build our faith, as well as, the faith of others. These are what we should greatly desire.
Honestly, if i was given the opportunity to walk in those gifts in an annointing similar to Elijah's, and all i would have to do is go through the hardest tests of my life comparable to those of Job or worse even. i would immediately dive head first into the tests.
To me there is nothing more rewarding than seeing lives changed. And tests do just that, they change my life in order that i might lead others to a place where God can change their's also.
Also, let's not forget the ultimate test. The Cross. The Word says Jesus despised the Cross and what it did to Him, but He endured it looking foward to the joy set the before Him. That joy set before Him consisted of three things, being reunited with us by undoing the work of death, being reunited with the Father, and then reuniting us with the Father. By the way, i believe that because of His self-sacrificing and loving spirit what gave Him the most joy of those three was the one in which He gave everything to get nothing, the reuniting us with the Father. He had to die an agonizing death and spend 3 days in hell itself in order that we would be reunited with the Father.
It never ceases to amaze me the love He held in His heart for us. He was the only man that had ever walked the earth or ever will walk the earth, that loved only God and hated only sin; this was everything to Him. Then He put it all aside. He put aside His love for God by choosing to be separated from the Father while He was in hell. He put aside His hatred of sin by receiving every bit of the world's sin upon Himself. He lost everything and gained nothing, except for the sheer joy that comes from seeing the most important ones in His life, us and the Father, be reunited and both happy once more. What amazing sacrifice, i am humbled.
i think i can safely say nothing improves without tests. We wouldn't even be saved if it weren't for Jesus's test. Accept it and look to the joy set before you whatever that may be.
PS. i don't believe it is scriptural to say "the teacher does not answer during the test." Often God can be compared to a human father to find out what He might do. A human father in the midst of a test a child was going through, would gladly explain anything the child would like to know. The problem lies in the fact that the child is only going through the test because they do not understand the answer. If they understood the answer it would not be a valid test. To give a math professor a page full of arithmetic problems is not a test, at best it might be called an exercise. But to give a first grader a page of arthmetic is definitely a test. The difference is the math professor knows the answers and understands why they are what they are, the child MAY know the answers but definitely doesn't understand why. i believe God is always telling us the answer and/or we already know the answer in our head, but we are tested because we don't understand the answer and have not implemented it in our lives by getting it down in our hearts.
PPS. You write a long question, you get a long answer.
i think i might blog this.
