We’re not all tested in the same ways, but we’ll be tested on the same issues. Let’s take Abraham as an example. After waiting for twenty years, God gave him a son to fulfil the promise that Abraham would be ‘a father of many nations’ (Genesis 17:5 NIV). Then God told him to sacrifice that boy on a remote wilderness altar. It didn’t make sense because it contradicted God’s promise, but Abraham obeyed anyway.

It’s highly unlikely we’ll be called to face the same challenges as Abraham, but we can be certain that we’ll be tested on the same issues. For example, we’ll be tested on our level of commitment. When the going gets tough, will you stay committed to God and obey His Word, or will you look for a way out? When it doesn’t make sense, isn’t fair, and you don’t deserve it, will you trust God and remain faithful to Him?

We’ll be tested on the issue of who is in control of our lives. When you can see the hand of the Enemy at work or identify the person responsible for your problems, worries, pressures, or pain, will you remember that ‘all things work together for good’ and God is still running the show? (See Romans 8:28.)

Another area where we’ll be tested is on the issue of our faith. Even when it looked like God was going back on His promise, ‘by faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice’ (Hebrews 11:17 NIV). How could a loving father do such a thing? Because he never doubted that God could restore Isaac, reasoning that ‘God could even raise the dead’ (v.19 NIV). So whenever we’re tested, ‘Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful’ (Hebrews 10:23 NIV).

What Now?

Ask God to help you stay strong and committed to Him, even when the tests of life don’t seem fair.