Passing the Test

Remember when you were in school and you knew you were going to be tested on the material presented in class? If you were a "good student", you'd pay attention, take sufficient notes, review, study, maybe even make flashcards, in hopes that you would not only pass, but get a good grade. I didn't care much about testing in school, especially those stupid Scan-tron type tests as pictured above until my Junior year in high school. From then on, I chased after the almighty "A". I wanted to prove I was a good student (and, frankly, when it came down to implementing the above techniques to do well on  a test, I was proven most of the time). 

Years ago I was watching a preacher on TV and the sermon was on a passage in Psalm 66. 

0 For You, O God, have tested us;
You have refined us as silver is refined.
11 You brought us into the net;
You laid affliction on our backs.
12 You have caused men to ride over our heads;
We went through fire and through water;
But You brought us out to rich fulfillment.

Other versions use "a place of abundance" as the result of all this testing. The preacher focussed on the word "test" and passing the various tests that God gives us. The original Hebrew uses 2 words here in the first verse; "tried" which means "to fuse or refine", and "proved" which means "test". God gives us tests and trials to help to process the sincerity of our faith and purge the "dross", as in the refining process of silver=all the yucky stuff floats to the top and is scraped off. 

I think God also wants to "test" us, like a kid in a class, to see how much we remember and have studied. It's not just the hearing of the Word, rather, do we know it well enough to apply it when the storms come? A sermon I was reading about this likened it to someone in the Army going through months of training on how to shoot a weapon, hit a moving target, hide from enemies, strategize next moves appropriately, etc. But it's only in war that those things are put to the test. 

(not my words) "God places each of us in the circumstances in which He does place us in order that we might have the experience of working out the problems of working out His Word in practice..." How many times have we heard Philippians 4:6-7 and fail to implement it? (paraphrase) "Don't worry about anything! Pray about everything! Tell God what you need and thank Him for what He's done! And the peace of God which passes all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus". Or others? "Rejoice in the Lord always!" "Do unto others..." "Turn the other cheek"..."God loves a cheerful giver"..."Practice hospitality..."

That last one is a test I have taken over and over and OVER..., and I picture God shaking His head at me each time saying, "Urgh, Jennifer...You need to study more!" I used to fail miserably, mostly in my attitude. And it's all ME--no one else. I like my space and my time and my routine (mymyMY) and when sudden guests come and my routine gets rerouted I tend to disintegrate. I DO NOT like this about myself--at all--and am working to change it. I think at this point I'm getting a C- but it's an area of my like (and, frankly, a scriptural command) that, I believe, God wants me to pass with flying colors. My sinful nature gets in the way (selfishness, fear of having an imperfect house & what others may think, etc.) so I totally believe God keeps putting this test in front of me so that I can one day pass and bring me--heart, soul, mind, spirit, and ATTITUDE into "rich fulfillment". I long for that day! Frankly, any sudden change in plans tends to derail me. I was saying to Mark a few weeks ago that I wish I could get to the point in my life when we/I get a sudden invitation to "whatever" and instead of me immediately going to the angst of how this will negatively impact my life in terms of routine, food, exercise, sleep, etc. I can say with 100% joy, "Wow! That sounds like a lot of fun!"...not there yet...

One things I read likened "the net" as a situation of complete frustration. Something you're dealing with where you feel completely paralyzed by the circumstances and you just cannot move or get out of it. Maybe it's a "waiting" period, which is what I find frustrating at times. You do what you can to get out of that net but there you sit, trapped, unable to move until God cuts you out when you've had enough. Have you passed the test? Not if you kept clawing at the net or trying on your own to get out of it! So expect that test again. 

The other "trials" listed here: affliction, men/people that ride on our heads, going through fire and water--all of these in whatever form God chooses for you are purposed and meant to be passed so that He can bring us to a place of abundance. And I also think it's not just "one and done". You might pass a small test--1st grade level, let's say. But the Christian life in intended for growth...so the tests keep getting harder and harder. Something so simple to believe and have faith in or be obedient to 10 years ago might be upped a few levels so God can continue the process of working out my salvation...and I get a big fat F. But praise God--He always allows a re-test...So I study more, take notes, remind myself of why I've failed "this or that" in the past...and keep trying to be a good student...because that "rich fulfillment" sounds pretty awesome and it's a place where I want to be AND where God wants to bring me.