Ten Truths You Should Know About God's Tests

Educators are aware that there are some students, not many, who freeze during a test. They may know the material quite well, but the fact that this is a test blocks their ability to concentrate and recall what they do know.

Perhaps this can happen during God's tests, too. Therefore, to orient you better so you can settle in, be less rattled, and improve your performance, it is helpful to know in advance these ten truths about God's tests.

The first truth about God's tests helpful to know is: All who are in the faith will be tested.

As the Puritan writer Thomas Manton put it, “Never a Christian went out of this world, but, one time or other, God tried him in some eminent point of self-denial ….” This happens to all of us.

Peter counseled, “Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial” that has come upon you (I Peter 4:19). There’s nothing strange or unusual about it!

Trials taking our measure in order to increase our stature will come.  So don't be surprised by that or begin to panic. This is normal.

The second truth about testing is: God's tests aren't too hard.

Profound wisdom and hidden love are embedded in each test. In his book, Coals of Fire, G.D. Watson declared, “God will select the test with infinite skill, and have it so applied to us to prove our heart loyalty to him at the very core.”

These tests aren't designed for us to fail, nor are they given to punish. F.B. Meyer observed, “Faith knows that there is a loving purpose running through every trial, and that the Great Refiner has a meaning for every degree of heat to which the furnace is raised.”

A.B. Simpson asserted, “There is no situation so trying and difficult but God can sustain us in it.”

Richard Sibbes, the seventeenth-century Puritan writer, encouraged those who lament, “`I shall never get through such a trial’,” by the reminder: “If God brings us into the trial he will be with us in the trial, and at length bring us out, more refined.”

A third truth about testing is: God's tests are designed to bring out the good in us.

Samuel Rutherford cried, “Oh, what I owe to the file, and the hammer and the furnace of the Lord Jesus!”

Martin Luther exclaimed, “My temptations (or tests) have been my master's in divinity.”

Hannah Whitall Smith declared, “Temptation (a test) is plainly one of the instruments used by God to complete our perfection.”

A fourth truth about God's tests is: Tests can turn weaknesses into strengths.

J.H. Jowett stressed, “We cannot affirm this to ourselves too often and too confidently: Conquered perils become allies: in every victory there is a transfer of dynamics.”

What threatened to overcome us will be put in reverse, triggering a new capacity and a new confidence—in the words of Scripture, “experience produces hope” (Romans 5:5).

A fifth truth about God's tests is: At the time of taking a test, we may not see its benefit.

G.D. Watson added realism to his optimism when he explained:

It is almost impossible for us to see any benefits of being tempted while we are passing through them; the sensibilities are so pierced by fiery darts, the mind is so distracted by evil suggestions, the will is so upset with opposite motives, the rattle of spiritual musketry and smoke of battles obscures the vision from seeing any blessing likely to come from it.

If you know that in advance, you'll know not to trust this perception; just brace up, and with a dependence upon the Lord, carry on.

A sixth truth about God's tests is: God's tests may target what we want most.

Thomas Goodwin wrote, “… as God tried Abraham in his Isaac, so God will test the sons of Abraham in what is dearest to them.”

It is so easy for us to treasure that long-sought-after-answer to prayer more than the one who answered the prayer. When prayer is answered, our enjoyment may be of such magnitude that devotion shifts. An idol may be in the making!

Therefore, God may test to make sure that's not happening.

A seventh truth about God's test is: God's tests may make us look bad in the eyes of others. 

The Apostle Paul wrote, “We have been made a spectacle” (II Corinthians 4:9). The Greek word for “spectacle” means theater.

This reference perhaps anticipated the violence on display against Christians in Roman amphitheaters.

There, the crowd became a mob. And the mob, moved to frenzy by the violence, looked on with bright eyes and black hearts—spectators savoring every ghastly wound with euphoric glee. 

Talk about a test! This was much more than a test—for the martyrs, this was the final exam!

An eighth truth about God's test is: God's tests may not be obvious to us.

There may be many gray days when nothing eventful happens. The road to the horizon is flat, with nothing appealing or foreboding drawing our attention.

There is neither sunshine nor rain, as each day seems like the last. Faceless people and dull routine occupy both center and circumference.

John Henry Jowett wrote: “Perhaps the test of monotony is more severe than the test of an emergency. Perhaps the long pull tends more to exhaustion than some tremendous but momentary strain.”

And perhaps, too, God is checking the gravitation of our soul when all props and prompts are withdrawn, and when an awareness of being tested is absent, and when the summons to do our best isn't voiced.

A ninth truth about God's test is: God's tests aren't perpetual.

John Henry Jowett wrote, “There are softer seasons among the years, times when the springs in the life are unsealed, and lovely purposes come to birth.”

From the pen of G.D Watson we see a similar sentiment expressed:

It is generally true of the sanctified life that after the soul has gone through various tests and spiritual conflicts, there comes a time when it experiences a greater enjoyment, a serener vision, and firmer establishment than it knew in the first stage of heart cleansing.

A tenth truth about God's tests is: God's tests may have nothing to do with some of our current problems.

Problems that come because of our foolishness or sinfulness are not sponsored by God or derived from the tests God designed.

Everyone has problems. But the critical question is, how many have problems incurred from a committed life where character is growing?

George Müller had many problems, but not because of any flaw in his character. His problems came because he started four orphanages and cared for ten thousand children.

But could it be that our problems are self-inflicted and Satan-inspired? Of course, these are problems God never wanted us to have. So we shouldn't too quickly say, “God is testing me,” when in fact we did this to ourselves.

Two final thoughts: First, consider which truth about testing is the one you most need to mediate today and bring that meditation to the Lord in prayer.

Second, consider keeping this list accessible so you can review it from time to time when one of its observations is needed to steady you, and reorient you, so you can make needed adjustments and do well during the test you're currently taking.