This life is full of tests.  So much depends on how we deal with them.  I’ve always been one of those who sailed along comfortably and when things started to get choppy, I’d give up.  Whether it was looking at a test paper without any preparation and blanking out, or being prepared, but not for the questions you’re being asked, I resist, I struggle, I delay, I often simply give up, because testing is hard and I don’t like hard things.  Do you?

Most of us look for easier way of doing things.  When we’re given a way out, we usually grab it without question, but is that really the best for us?  I believe that God knows us better than we know ourselves and the tests He puts in our lives are designed to strengthen us and make us even more grateful for the end result.

When was the last time you endured a long struggle?  Did it serve any purpose?  Think about it.  Did it bring about a change or did you learn anything from it?  So often, when faced with difficulties, I can’t’ help wondering why.  Why is God allowing this to happen to me?  What am I suppose to learn from this?  What good is it accomplishing?

It’s discouraging.  It’s tough.  It’s tiring and frustrating.  It’s a pain in the neck, this whole process of living.  When things become overwhelming, we blame others, we blame ourselves, we even blame God.  Trials are not meant to break us, but to strengthen us, but sometimes it doesn’t feel that way.  Sometimes we don’t want another test.  We think we should’ve passed by now, but still each day brings something new – some way to refine us, to temper us like steel, to put us in the fire and perfect us.  We resist, we struggle, we delay, we try to ignore and in some cases we just give up.

God has promised us that He will never give us more than we can bear, but what if your health fails – your finances are in such bad shape that you can’t buy groceries for the week – you lose your spouse, your job, your mind?  God also promises that He will be with us through every one of our trials.  In fact, He came to earth as a human being, to experience the same things we do.  He even suffered a horrific death so that we would live forever.

We aren’t alone.  We have the King of Creation at our side in every situation if we only believe in Him.  It’s not a matter of our accepting Him.  He’s already accepted us.