Test Time

"Trial: a test of the performance, qualities, or suitability of someone or something."

Good ol' Webster hit the nail right on the head. However, I would argue that when many of us hear the word "trial" we generally associate it with a struggle, or a heartbreak, or a tragedy. Of course many of those things are often apart of the trial, but they are not in fact what the trial IS. A trial is a test. 

A test.

I think back to moments in school where I was given a really challenging paper test I was zero percent prepared for; it was not as if I would simply throw everything up in the air, throw the finger up to my teacher, and say F it to graduating. I sat there, did my best, struggled through questions I had no clue how to answer, and turned it in when I was done. It wasn't my entire schooling, it was one test. 

In our lives when struggle/heartache/chaos happens, or no answers come, or things don't turn out how we expected, how quickly we assume it's because we did something wrong, or our lives are terrible, or God has forgotten about us, or everything is falling apart. But really, we forget that the trial we are experiencing isn't a death sentence to our dreams and our futures, it's a test to determine if we are truly willing to do whatever necessary to bring life to them. Often, the bigger the dream, the harder the test. In other words, there is no room for "kinda-sortas", sissys, or lazy candidates.

It's not your entire life, it's one test. So rather than throwing your hands up in the air and giving God the finger and say F it to your future,    r e s t   there,   do your best,   struggle through questions you have no clue how to answer,   and turn your eyes upon Jesus. 

As I've been in the middle of a trial, I've had the completely wrong perspective. I thought that somehow I was doing something wrong, not doing something good enough, or that God had forgotten about me. It started to wreck me because no matter how much I tried doing my best, things weren't changing, they were actually getting worse. Then after a day full of bumper-to-bumper traffic outside of Denver, a freckly sun burn effecting only the left side of my body, and a heart desperate for some answers, God reminded me what a trial was.

A test.

Not a death sentence to all your hopes, dreams and future plans.

A test to pull out the genuine desires of your heart, to ask how hard you're willing to work, to grow your faith, to examine your true heart for Jesus, to teach you patience, to put a spotlight on God and off of you, to prove His faithfulness.

When this finally reigned as truth in my heart, the most captivating amount of courage fled in. Fear, questions, and doubt no longer had any place near me, because I remembered what I was going through was simply a test... I remembered why I could be brave. It brought me to fight as hard as I could, to be as strong as my heart would allow, and to soar as high as I possibly could. Because our hearts' greatest desires bring us to win battles we deemed impossible, conquer enemies we once thought had already won the war, and stop at nothing until we see them accomplished. God GAVE you those desires and those passions. Of course He is on your team; He is FOR you.

If you can view each trial in your life in the proper context as a test, rather than a terrible, hopeless situation that you'll be stuck in forever, I promise that strength will begin to outweigh your fears, that God will reveal all the beauty and purpose amidst the pain and heartache.

You will come out of this stronger, wiser, nearer to God's heart, and closer to your future. But only if you're willing to fight and endure... The Enemy would love to see you stuck there forever, but you can gladly disappoint him. Because God made you brave, and He equips you with EVERYTHING you could ever need to pass this test: Himself, His promises, and His strength.

-Han

"They were just trying to intimidate us, imagining that they could discourage us and stop the work. So I continued the work with even greater determination." 6:9