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Chapter 7
CHAPTER 7

GOD IS TESTING OUR CHARACTER & GOING THROUGH TRIALS

It is not our abilities, our looks or our strength that matters to God, it is our character!  True
character must precede anything that we do for the Lord or our motives and attitudes will
be wrong.  God tests us to see if we will complain in the midst of our circumstances, as He
is the One who has allowed us to be in that circumstance.  Our circumstances are our
training ground where we will grow and develop!  Going through a bad marriage, financial
chaos and debt, children who have gone astray, a job where people don’t like you, physical
health conditions or whatever—that is your “boot camp!” This world is not our home!  It is
boot camp to train us how to live and glorify our King.  Paul called himself a bondservant of
Christ and so are we. The New Testament writers often referred to themselves as servants
of the Lord Jesus Christ.  We are here to become transformed from death unto life, to be
changed from carnal women to spiritual women!  We must die to the old man and live in the
new man.  When we walk in newness of life, we become more like Jesus and not like our
old fleshly selves.  As we have talked about before, we are to be trained to put on the mind
of Christ, as it says in Romans 12.  We are to think like He thinks.  This takes a lot of
character development and an enormous amount of letting go of our old ways and habits.  
We must learn to embrace Christ and make His ways our ways; seeing things the way He
sees them, feeling with His compassion and being filled with His love for people rather than
ourselves.  We must be able to live and walk in 1 Cor 13 at all times towards our fellow
man, husband, children, friends, co-workers, relatives and the unsaved.  With that in mind,
the Lord puts each one of us in difficult trials (or tests) to bring out the gold that is in us.  
When gold in refined by the fire, it is heated to a very high temperature and the dross in the
gold goes to the top by the heat.  The dross is then skimmed off, making gold that is refined
and pure.  So it is with us.  God puts us through the fire of purification, so to speak.  He
allows a trial to come into our life, and then He turns up the heat.  The dross in us comes to
the surface and as we pass the test or trial, the dross in us come to the top and is then
skimmed off so that our lives can then be reflectors of His glory, shining forth as pure gold!

Oh what a wonderful outcome when we pass our tests in life and don’t have to go around
the mountain again.

Sometimes your circumstances get so hot in your refining pot that you scream out to the
Lord with great tears begging Him to remove this situation from you.  But then you hear Him
say, “… My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness…” (2
Cor 12:9).  “I will never test you beyond what you can endure.”  God is watching us all the
time to see whether we will react or respond.  Reacting to a situation = walking in the
flesh.  Responding to situation = walking in the Spirit.  Will we choose to be selfish or giving,
kind or mean, snappy & retaliatory or patient and longsuffering?  Will we complain in our
circumstances or endure our hardships with trust and faith in a loving God and Father who
means to do us well?  God does have a purpose for this testing or trial and He only has our
best interest in mind.  Let’s look at some Scriptures concerning testing and trials.

“Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the
last time.  Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in
heaviness through manifold (many) temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much
more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto
praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (I Peter 1:5-7).

“Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some
strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's
sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy” (I
Peter 4:12-13).

“My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the
trying of your faith worketh patience.  But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may
be perfect and entire, wanting nothing” (James 1:2-4), ready for anything—strong in
character—full and complete.

Psalm 105: 17-19 says of Joseph, “and he sent a man before them— Joseph, sold as a
slave.  They bruised his feet with shackles; his neck was put in irons, till what he foretold
came to pass, till the word of the LORD proved him true.”  Notice how it says, till the word
of the Lord proved him true.  Joseph was being tested for a purpose.   The Lord tested
Joseph’s character, and then He gave Joseph the highest position in the land, in order to
provide for His people Israel, during a terrible famine.  There was a bigger picture that God
was working on all the time, and yet; Joseph was stuck in shackles and his neck in an iron
collar, perhaps wondering if this would be his fate forever.  Perhaps he was tempted to
think, “What’s the use in serving God?”  A God that Joseph loved so much, and yet it
seemed like His God had left him.  A God who had given him dreams in the night, and yet
none of these dreams had come true.  But God was testing his character, because Joseph’
s character was so very important to God, in order to be used for the purpose that God
had intended Joseph to fulfill.  

Now let’s look at Abraham and Sarah.  Abraham was given a promise that he would have
as many children as there is sand on the seashore.  He was so excited!  But then, five
years passed, then ten years passed, then twenty years passed.  He and Sarah began to
wonder if he had heard correctly.  He may have thought to himself, “What am I doing
wrong; I’ve tried to walk upright before my God, yet where is the promise?”  Sarah must
have become confused as well.  As a result she took matters into her own hands and tried
to make the promise happen.  This type of action is never a good thing idea. Taking matters
into our own hands is where we go wrong so often.   We don’t wait on God to fulfill His
promises to us no matter how long it may take.  Sarah gave Abraham her maidservant
Hagar, because her faith had wavered.  Sure she was a woman of faith, but she also
became doubtful, presumptuous, desperate, not to mention that she was to the age of not
being able to bear children any longer.  Abraham and Sarah’s faith was being tested.  After
the testing, God made possible that which was against all possibility.  He caused Sarah’s
barren womb to open and to be able to have a child at the age of ninety years old, and
Abraham at the age of one-hundred.

Now let’s look at Job’s life.  He was considered the most righteous man on the earth.  
Satan went before God and asked for permission to test Job’s faithfulness to God.  He was
in hopes that he would be able to prove that Job was only true to God because of God’s
goodness to Job.  Satan thought that Job would turn from God if he was tested.  God
however had faith in Job, so He allowed Job to be tested.  God gave Satan permission to
touch all his of livestock, but Satan was not allowed to touch Job’s body.  Satan destroyed
Job’s livestock which probably meant his entire livelihood and wealth was taken away.  
Then Satan killed all of Job’s children all at once.  But still Job’s faith did not waiver, and he
said the most wonderful words in response to the dealings of God, “Naked came I out of
my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath
taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21).  These are words for us as
well to hang onto when we are severely tried.  Permission was then given by God to allow
Satan to touch Job’s body.  He was covered with boils.  His friends condemned him and told
him that he must have done some terrible sin, and his own wife told him “why don’t you
curse God and die.”  For a number of days Job sat there in terrible misery with boils all
over his body, having to listen to his well-meaning but condemning friends.  After Job’s hour
of testing was over, the Lord intervened and told Job that he did have some self-
righteousness that needed to be confessed but that now God would restore all that Job had
lost.  God did not only restore the livestock, but He restored twice as many of each kind of
livestock.  He also gave him seven more sons and three more daughters, so Job was
blessed more at the end of his life than at the beginning.

Our son, Steven, was taken from us several years ago at the age of 41.  This was an
unexpected event in our lives.  God had done such a wonderful work in Steven’s life during
the last four months before he died.  I thought for sure he would live and we would become
a family again.  The things that God was doing in our family were so wonderful.  We had
our first Christmas with our son together as a family in over 20 years and oh what a
wonderful time we had!  The Lord, however, had decided that it was better to take Steven
home with Him, than to allow him to suffer any longer down here with the many things he
was facing in his life.  In the next month he was facing an unscriptural divorce by his wife,
the loss of his children, his business and all that he had worked so hard for, by a woman
who was out to get all that he had gained.  Steven also had many physical ailments and
pain that caused him to have to be on pain medications, other drugs and alcohol to endure
the pain that he suffered physically.  I had to surrender our son to the Lord knowing that
God’s ways and God’s will for us, is better than our own.  My faith was tried but was able
to kick in just when I needed it.  I was able to go through this departing of our beloved son
with nothing but confidence and trust in our Lord that He knew best.  My husband and I
have cried many a night, and still do when we think of Steven, but we NEVER have doubted
our Lord or His will.

Trials provide us with the perfect opportunity of putting our TRUST into action, as opposed
to when things are going well for us.  We talk about faith in the Lord a lot, but it is not until
we are tested, like Joseph, that we see if we REALLY do have faith.  Then we draw upon
that faith we have been proclaiming to have, and the Lord grants us His grace to go through
the trial, giving us His wonderful presence and peace in the midst of it.

Even Jesus was tested.  First He was tested in the wilderness by Satan; then in the Garden
where He could have called ten thousand angels but instead He chose to die for you and
me.  On the cross Jesus must have felt that the bottom had dropped out, when His Father
had to turn away from Him, because God cannot look upon sin.  His Son was now filled with
our sins on Himself, causing the Father to have to look away.  It was at that point that
Jesus cried out, “Father, why hasth thou forsaken me?”  But then, after His death on the
cross, Jesus became the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.  He will reign forevermore.  
He conquered sin, death and hell by His obedience to the Father, and has set us free from
slavery to sin.  What will we become when we conquer sin, and are obedient to the Father
as well?  The Bible tells us that we will become priests and kings forever.  What a future
that awaits us!

We must understand that after our hour of trial and testing, if we pass the tests, God
always has a good and better result in the end waiting for us.  We must remember what it
says in I Cor 10:13, “There hath no temptation (trial) taken you but such as is common to
man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted (tested) above that ye are
able; but will with the temptation (testing) also make a way to escape, that ye may be able
to bear it.”    This is a promise that we can hold on to during our hour of testing, just like
Jesus did.

We also must look for ways to glorify God in the midst of our trials, for that is our purpose
for being—to love God, glorify Him and enjoy Him forever.  Glorifying God in our
circumstances right now, even in the midst of great trials is so important for us to practice
(for we may not have tomorrow to do it in).  We must stop complaining, being negative,
becoming bitter against God or others, and PRAY, PRAY, PRAY for God to allow His Holy
Spirit to do a transforming work in our hearts, making us more like His dear Son!  We can
cry out earnestly and constantly to our loving Father to change us by His Spirit until we see
the answers to our prayers.  God, our Father, does hear and answer these kinds of
prayers and He will hear your prayer.

In the midst of trials our attitude must be joyful (full of joy), because we know that we are in
His will and that He is doing something deep inside of us.  We must remember that the “joy
of the Lord is our strength”, which enables us to go through these trials.  The Bible exhorts
us to be thankful in the midst of trials and tribulations which is the opposite of complaining.  
God tells us in His Word that He does ALL things well, and “all things work together for
good for those who love Him and are the called according to His purpose” (see Rom 8:8).  
Remember that the children of Israel never made it into the Promised Land because of their
complaining against the Lord.  When we complain, we are actually complaining against the
Lord—griping about the circumstance we are in.  In essence we are saying that God does
not know what is best for us, and this is an abridgment against His character!  The Lord
cannot tolerate this in His people.  Therefore, we continue to go through the same or similar
circumstances until we get it right and stop complaining.  

When it seems like the bottom is falling out, pray earnestly and be open for God to reveal
any areas of sin He is trying to show you.  If you aren’t shown any areas of sin that you
need to repent of, perhaps it is a time of testing.  It may be a small test or a “trial by fire”
type of test.  But determine right then and there to go through it, enduring to the end and
fainting not.  Know that your test will not last forever and that there is a time when it will
end.  There are better things ahead for us after we have been tried.  We must let “patience
have her perfect work” in our hearts. “Tribulation worketh patience” Rom 5:3-4).  “Run with
patience the race.”  “In patience possess ye your soul” (Luke 21:19).

Let us stay focused on the fact that we want to please God and do His will, not our own.  
Then, we can feel His pleasure, whether we are in the deep caldrons of testing fire or high
upon the mountain top.  Circumstances do change, or at least our attitudes in the mist of
them change, if we let them.  We must keep as our determination and ambition in life, to
desire to become more and more like Jesus, taking on His divine nature and character.  Our
character is who we are and that is the part of us that the Holy Spirit takes up to heaven
when we die.  That is the part of us which receives a new body and will inherit eternal life.  
Therefore, our character is not only important to God, but it is also very important to us.  
Oh why do we focus on the external things of this world, when there are such far weightier
things that we should be focusing on?  Heaven forgive us!

So dear ladies, rejoice, when you enter into various temptations (trials or testing).  There is
a purpose in everything you go through, even though you cannot see it or understand it at
the present.  These tests or trials are painful, but they will work a far weightier reward for
you (when you pass them).  Therefore, yield your will to the will of our precious Father
letting your attitude be changed in the midst of your circumstance by the Holy Spirit.  Your
life can then be used to bring Him much glory,  and He will be able to say on the day of your
arrival home “Well done my good and faithful servant, come enter into My rest.”
Women for the Lord
www.WomenfortheLord.com


"Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies." Proverbs 31:10