Everything that you have been and are going through is a test. How you respond to what comes against you is the testing of your faith. How have you responded? Did you blame God for your situation, or did you worship Him? This is how Job responded when he was tested; Job 1:20 Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. 21 And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
And naked shall I return there.
The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away;
Blessed be the name of the Lord.” 22 In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.
Many don’t realize that how you respond to the situations that comes against you determines if you grow in the spirit or not. I will give you two examples of this. First is Jesus. As we read the stories of what Jesus has done, we should continue to see what happens afterwards as well. In this instant, John the Baptist has his head chopped off. Did you know that John was Jesus’ relative? Listen to what the angel said to Mary. Luke 1:34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” 35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing will be impossible.” How would you react if a relative of yours had their head chopped off? Would you blame them for this? Would you ask God why did this happen? Jesus did none of these things. Did you read the things that Jesus did right after John’s death? Jesus grew in the spirit even more; He feed 5,000 people in a deserted place and walked on water. Every situation, the enemy believes that you will cave in, but you can turn this around and grow.
The second one I want to look at is Paul. Paul was annoyed by a woman who had a spirit of divination and cast the spirit out. The people that owned the woman were pissed that they couldn’t make anymore money from the woman so they tired to get Paul arrested. Paul was arrested and beaten for this. Paul didn’t complain about this as complaining gives people power over you. While Paul and Silas were in jail, they sang songs to the Lord and an earthquake shook the prison and set everyone free. Paul told the jailer that no one had escaped and the jailer’s family all came to the Lord.
Profiting from Trials
As I was speaking to a friend on this subject, the following verses came out of my mouth. Now you may know why James was excited when situations came against him. James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.