You, O God, Tested Us

 1 Samuel 1-2; Psalms 66; 2 Corinthians 7

“Praise our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard; he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping. For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.”

Psalm 66:8-12

The tests of faith the Lord allows in our lives are both for our growth, refinement, and promotion, and for our witness to the peoples and nations around us. When we can praise the Lord for the test, we know we are often on the other side. When we understand that the Lord uses tests to prepare us for the next level of authority and responsibility he is calling us to walk in, we can engage these tests - financial, health, relational, strategic, etc. - with humility and faith. The Psalmist describes experiences like prison, burdens, mistreatment, and harsh elements, from a redemptive perspective. They can bring us to a place of abundance.

Will we cooperate with God’s pruning and testing so that we, too, can experience more abundant fruit?

“Lord God, I submit to your Spirit both now and through the tests, for your glory.”