James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings. Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:1-4 (NIV)
We don’t like tests. Tests tell us what we know, but unfortunately they reveal what we don’t know. That’s how this world works. We test you to see if you learned. It’s how you validate earning a diploma. The test proves you have learned the content.
The way God works is opposite of how we humans work.
God doesn’t test us to see if we have learned the content.
God tests us to teach us.
We are tested to be taught perseverance. Tests teach us to persevere in our faith, character, and calling.
The way we are tested is when we face a trial, or a undesired circumstance, that puts our faith , character, or calling to the test.
Tests come many ways. Every trial and test we go through are not for God to see what you have learned but to teach you something new.
But we hate tests. We avoid them when it exposes that we weren’t prepared. Tests from God aren’t prepared for us to make us fail, but to enable is to grow.
The purpose of tests and trials is to grow us into the likeness of Jesus.
James says the purpose of the many trials we face is to mature us.
My next step:
Allow my testing circumstances to make me more like Jesus.