The Test
Psalm 107:1-16; Numbers 20:1-13; 1 Corinthians 10:6-13
No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it. (1 Cor 10:13)
I am reminded this morning that the tests that come to me are not unique to me. They are common to everyone. Even though, when we are walking through seasons of testing it seems like we are alone, we are not.
The tests that I face are ones that others are going through or have gone through. So, I can lean into community. Others will be able to empathize with me. In so doing, they will help provide me with the encouragement to continue persevering. It’s so hard to press on when we believe ourselves to be alone.
Secondly, we are promised that God is with us in our testing. There will always be a way out and it will not be more than we can bear. The tests that we face will be ones that stretch us but are not beyond us. We may feel like the testing is beyond us. Yet, the promise is that we can trust that they are not beyond our strength.
I am deeply encouraged by these truths. In the Psalm we read that God is faithful and God’s love endures. How do we experience that love and faithfulness? We do so by crying out in prayer.
Prayer is the center of our experience with the Divine. It is in prayer that we come into the presence of God. It is in prayer that we find help in our times of struggle. It is in prayer that our fears and anxiety is relieved.
Today, I am wrestling with this question: “Am I praying or am I simply trying to fix everything on my own?”