Christian Foundations

November 5, 2007

For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

--Hebrews 12:11

You know how it goes. Just about the time you think you’ve got it together in life, the wheels start coming off as another challenge comes along. That’s just the way life is!

And the Christian life is no different. Just about the time we get comfortable in our Christian lives…just about the time we think we’ve arrived spiritually…God brings along another test to raise the bar a little bit higher.

Now, believe me, I know…sometimes it feels like all of life is a series of tests. Today, you may even be wondering how much more character-building you can stand! But trust God’s heart on this. He tests you because He loves you. He tests you because He wants to stretch your faith and to build you up—not because He wants to beat you down or wear you out.

Think about the process of weight lifting. It’s a physiological reality that you have to tear your muscles down in order to build them back up to make them stronger. That’s why you’re always sore after a workout. And it’s the same process in the Christian life!

If you’re going through a test today, remember what today’s verse says. There are very few things as discouraging in the Christian life as thinking that God is out to get you…that He somehow isn’t on your side. Which is exactly what the devil wants you to think when you’re going through a test or trial!

Today, I want to encourage you to recognize the lie of Satan that says God is letting you be tested because He doesn’t care about you. Then believe the promise that God will use your trials to produce something good in you…if He hasn’t done so already.

And finally, claim a verse like James 1:12, which says, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”

god tests you because he wants to stretch your faith and build you up—not because he wants to beat you down or wear you out!