Thursday, July 21, 2011

Faithfulness Through Testing

"Faithfulness Through Testing"
By Zach Wood
Genesis 22:1-18

Are you a person who always gets(or got) the highest or one of the highest scores on tests in school?  Well, I was not one of them.  Except for vocabulary words in my high school English class, I did not make exceptional grades, either with homework or on tests.  While is felt great to sometimes receive a B+ or A, I was content many times with a B- or C.  I didn't look on D's or D-'s very well, but if I did get them, at least I passed.  I must admit many times throughout my school years, I was happy to receive a passing grade so that I would not "flunk" out.  Not all classes were hard, but many were and they really challenged my learning abilities. 

What if each of the tests you received in school were either an A or F?  Nothing in between.  You either get everything right or you fail.  That would probably raise the pressure and the amount of stress.  Talk about sweating!  Think about the pressures and the challenges you face in life.  God brings tests into our lives to test our faithfulness to Him. 

Picture Abraham when God told him to sacrifice his son, Isaac.  What an amazing story of testing and faithfulness!  Abraham didn't hold the knife back and wait for God to stop him.  He obeyed God and was bringing the knife down to sacrifice his son when God stopped him.  It was not until Abraham was in the act of the sacrifice that God stopped him.  God was testing Abraham's faithfulness.  God wanted to know if He was the single most important thing to Abraham.

If we are true followers of Jesus Christ and not just "lip service" people, we will follow God no matter what the circumstances.  When He gives us a test, it's either A or F.  We either obey Him all the way, or we fail completely.  I don't even like the sound of "failing completely", do you?  We have all been there.  There are times when God has called us to something great, but we fail to pass tests that He puts in our lives to see if we're ready for the next level of the journey of life.  If we don't pass, we take the test again. 

God’s testing will challenge our faithfulness.  What grade are you getting?

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