Everyday Christianity: Testing (1)
The LORD is in His holy temple,
The LORD‘s throne is in heaven;
His eyes behold,
His eyelids test the sons of men.
The LORD tests the righteous,
But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates. Psalm 11.4, 5
A test today?
Did you ever have this experience? You walk into your classroom, and everybody’s sitting there with a blue book on their desk. A sudden feeling of fear, dread, and failure rises up your back as you realize, there’s a test today. You haven’t prepared, and you’re likely to do poorly. You may even fail.
Rats.
Yeah. Not a good feeling. As you prepare for each day of your life in Christ, you must know this one thing: There will be a test. That is, probably several tests. The Lord loves to test His people, which is why we must make sure we have all those everyday first things in mind and in order first thing every day. Take a moment to thank God for calling you to His Kingdom and glory and for sending you as He sent Jesus to embody and proclaim His Kingdom in your mission field. Embrace your commission to make disciples—to encourage and affirm those who know the Lord and to love and instruct those who do not. As you step out of your bed, you step into your calling, that unique place of service God has appointed for you; pray for the filling of the Holy Spirit, that He might cleanse and renew you, and stretch out in you with power to make you able and willing to follow Jesus. And thank the Lord for making you a member of the Body of Christ, so you not only represent Him to your world, but you make the most of every opportunity to build His Body in unity and maturity.
Take a deep breath. Commit your day to the Lord. Whatever tests may lie ahead, you’ll be ready to endure and pass them.
This is a test…
As we have seen, Job shared the happy news that the Lord tests us every moment of the day (Job 7.17, 18).
Happy news?
Yes, for when the Lord allows a test to come upon us, His purpose is to strengthen us in righteousness. Tests come in various forms. Temptations. Situations where we may suddenly react poorly. Wrong attitudes. Wandering desires. Unrighteous thoughts. Neglected duties or blown opportunities. Setbacks. Disappointments. Irritations that get out of control. Failure to keep our eyes on the prize of being like Jesus.
These and more will confront us every day. Each one has the power to knock us off course in our walk with the Lord, cause us to compromise our witness for Jesus, or impede love for a family member, co-worker, fellow student, or someone you encounter in the course of your day.
It’s a good idea, first thing in the morning, to pray about the day ahead in specific detail. That way you can anticipate at least some of the tests and be ready to pass them handily. Every test presents an option: We will either grow through the test to a greater level of Christlikeness, or we will fall through it into sin. Ken Boa described everyday Christian life as walking up the down escalator. You make progress, but you have stay after it, one step (test) at a time. Otherwise, you’ll just keep going down.
So it’s good to set our souls for the moment-by-moment testing of the Lord before we get too far into our day every day.
Testing for Christlikeness
We must not run from such tests, be they ever so strenuous or threatening. When they come, we will stand on the firm foundation of the Lord, and of our faith in Him. We will look to Jesus, exalted in glory, give thanks for His sovereign oversight and love, and seek mercy and grace for our time of need.
We will remember that every test is the work of the Lord, seeking to grow us into Him. When a test comes, we must not fear, we must not sulk or feel sorry for ourselves. We must rather ask, “What does righteousness require?” Then we must take whatever next steps the Spirit of God may indicate to further the cause of righteousness and to honor the throne of God. To be sure, the more we practice prayer without ceasing throughout our day, the more likely we will be to seek the Presence of the Lord and the power of His Spirit as we go through each test.
A good way to think about the tests we face each day is to see them like a tuning fork testing a piano wire. The fork is struck and the tension on the wire is increased or decreased accordingly. The aim is perfect pitch, sweet, beautiful music, and the Tuner will turn up the pressure or bring it down until the beauty He seeks is attained. And remember: It is the striking of the Fork, His absorbing the blow, that releases the pitch and beauty the Tuner is seeking in us.
We’ll have more to say about testing in subsequent installments. For now, take care to prepare for your daily tests so you will recognize and engage them in the confidence of the Lord, to pass each test and grow a bit more into the beauty of Jesus.
For reflection or discussion
1. How do you expect to be tested by the Lord today?
2. How should you prepare for those tests?
3. What can other members of the Body of Christ do to support you in your tests? How can you support them?
Next Steps—Transformation: Every situation of your everyday life presents a test. Begin to see them that way and, having prepared well first thing in the day, you will know the Lord’s Presence carrying you through each test.
T. M. Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
This week: Our Read Moore podcast is from the book, Patrick: A Devotional History. In our Crosfigell teaching letter, we are studying examples of the spiritual poetry of the Celtic Revival. And in the daily Scriptorium column we are working our way through the Gospel of Matthew. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
And please prayerfully consider supporting The Fellowship of Ailbe with your prayers and gifts. You can contribute online, via PayPal or Anedot, or by sending a gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451. Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
