Understanding the Tests of Life
God will show you this when he’s testing you. I know that’s probably what you don’t want to hear, but it probably will explain a lot of the things you’ve been going through recently, and it’s no coincidence you’re here right now, by the way. God knew you would see this video. He gave you the option to click it. You clicked it. You’re here right now, and the season of life you’re going through right now is not punishment. It’s a test from God.
And if you know anything about tests, they all have answers, and I have great news for you. God has already given you the answers, and I’m about to tell you the answers in this video. So, if you want to pass this test, make sure to stay till the end because you’re going to get everything you need to know to pass this test. And when you pass it, you’re going to have a testimony.
Man, so let’s get into it. There’s six tests that every believer will go through. I heard Pastor Rick Warren talk about this, and shout out to Pastor Rick Warren. I absolutely love his teaching.
There’s six different tests. And so, there’s the what test, there’s the when test, the where, the why, the how, and the how long.
And before we even get into it, think about what test you’re in right now. I haven’t even explained these tests yet, but these are the main six tests that every believer will go through. In fact, you might go through all of them. You probably will go through all of them at some point in your life.
And so, think of this video is like the cheat sheet. Okay, you know all the answers, whether you’re in a test right now or you’re about to be in one. I’m going to give you all the answers you need to know, and explain each test, and explain why God tests you. And actually, let’s start there.
Why Does God Test You?
So, why does God test you? But, his number one goal is to make you more like him, and happiness, that’s going to be in heaven. You’re going to be happy for eternity.
But, happiness is based off what’s happening around you. God never promised you happiness. He did promise you joy, and joy is not based on your circumstances, it’s based on your savior. It’s not based on life being easy, but based on God being faithful. But, that’s another topic for another day.
Did you guys catch that? I can’t be the only one who noticed something in this verse that just makes me go, “Wait, what?” It says when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.
Now, I don’t know about you guys, but when I go through trials and tests of life, I don’t always say, “Oh, this is such an awesome thing. I’m so excited and happy to be going through this test.” No, but that part doesn’t make sense unless you see what comes after that part, which basically says, “When you go through these things, God is using them to make you better, to make you grow.”
In other words, your pain is not pointless. Your pain has a purpose. Your struggle is not random.
God might be putting you through a test right now. He might be adding weight, and it might feel really difficult right now. But that’s actually where you grow the most.
In fact, this is just cuz I’m a kind of a nerd with the working out type stuff, but the most growth happens during your final reps when it’s the most painful. Like you guys know when you’re doing, let’s say, 10 reps. Those last reps, when you feel like you can’t even go one more, those reps are actually the most important because that’s where the most growth happens.
And tests are not easy, okay? And I know you’re in a test right now, okay? We’re all in a test to some extent. And you might feel like God is silent. But I’m here to tell you today that the teacher is always silent during the test.
Think about back in school. Maybe some of you guys are in school right now. The teacher is always silent during the test. Shout out to my mean teachers, if y’all are watching this.
The reason they’re silent and not answering to you is because they’ve already given you everything you need to pass the test. And God doesn’t want you to fail this test. He wants you to pass, which is why he gave you the answers in advance.
Have you guys ever had an open book test where you can look through the book and see all the answers while you’re taking the test? Those were my favorite types of test.
Well, life is an open book test because God has given you the Bible, the basic instructions before leaving Earth. So, I’m about to tell you six tests and let’s get into it.
The Six Tests of Faith Every Believer Faces
1. The What Test
The first type of test is the what test. And this is when God gives you a new task, a new assignment, a new dream, and it’s so big and crazy that your first reaction to it is hold up, wait, what?
And I think the best example of this in the Bible is Noah. God gave Noah instructions to build an ark because it was going to rain, even though at the time it had never even rained before. What would happen back then is the water came up from the ground.
And that’s actually why people lived longer back then, too, is because something about the environment, I don’t know the specifics, but ever since the rain started falling from the sky, people started living shorter lives.
And basically God tells Noah, “Yo, I’m about to send a flood to the Earth. We got to wipe out these people. People are doing some crazy stuff. I’m about to reset the entire Earth and all of humanity with you and your family.”
And so God gave him the instructions to build this ark. The ark was around 500 ft long, which is really big. I mean, that’s longer than a football field and a half.
But Noah did it. Faith is saying yes to God before you even know what. And so that’s the first type of test is the what test.
2. The Where Test
The second type of test is the where test. And this is where God calls you into a major change and you have no idea where it’s leading to.
And I think the best example of this is Abraham. What happened with Abraham? God basically came to him one day and said, “Pack up everything and go to the land I will show you.”
Now, I don’t know about you guys, but that doesn’t really sound very detailed. I would have no idea where I’m going.
And one thing I’ve learned about this whole journey I’ve been on with the constant and making music and putting myself out there is I don’t know where I’m going, but I am just following God. I’m trusting that he will take me to wherever he wants me to go.
And maybe some of you guys are in that same season right now. I feel like this is the season of life I’m in. The same test that I’m in is the where test.
Because here’s the thing about God. God doesn’t ever give you the full map. And listen to this part. It says he went without knowing where he was going.
And this is the second type of test, which is where. But faith is following God without knowing where.
3. The When Test
And so now let’s go to test number three, which is the when test. And oh, this is a big one. Because we can actually relate this one to Abraham again.
Don’t let the gap between God’s promises and his timing make you doubt him. You might not understand the when, but you can always trust the who because faith is trusting in God’s timing even when you don’t know when.
The when is not up to you. God’s time and God is never late. We’re just impatient.
God already knows the right time, the right place, the right person, and the right answers to all of your prayers. And he already has it prepared for you.
4. The How Test
All right, let’s go to the next test, which is the how test. And this is the unsolvable problem. This is when you’re staring at a situation and going, how?
So, God’s people are literally running away from an army. They have an army chasing after them, and then they hit a major obstacle, a major dead end, the Red Sea.
They literally have a whole sea in front of them. They have a whole army behind them, and they have no boats, there’s no bridge, there’s no way out. The math doesn’t math, but we all know what God does next, right? He splits that sea, and they walk through it.
Now, I want you to notice something. God didn’t remove the sea. He split it.
5. The Why Test
And you also don’t got to know test number five, which is why. And I know we’ve all faced this one, and this is when something happens in your life that makes no sense at all. A loss, a heartbreak, a situation where you’re asking God, why? Why did this happen to me?
And I think the best example of this is Joseph. Joseph got a dream from God one day about how he would become a ruler, and it was a great dream.
And then a couple days later, he gets thrown into a pit by his own brothers. And I bet Joseph was in the pit like, why?
And then it doesn’t even stop there. Then he gets sold to Egypt. And then he’s working for Potiphar. I bet Joseph was probably like, why?
And I mean, Joseph was doing everything right. He was just staying faithful to God. Even in prison, he was helping out fellow prisoners and in fact, he helped out one of them and interpreted a dream for him and it was a good dream because that person was about to be released from prison and then Joseph told him, “Yo, remember me when you get out of here because I didn’t do anything wrong. Tell Pharaoh about me.”
And Pharaoh was like the king at the time. But do you know what happened? That guy got released from prison and he completely forgot about Joseph.
And so Joseph had to sit in the prison for years and I bet he was probably thinking, “Why?” And some of you know exactly how this feels.
But watch the end of Joseph’s story. Years later, he gets promoted to be second in command over all of Egypt because that person actually ended up remembering him.
Anyways, Joseph is second in command and one day his own brothers needed some help. So they came down to bow down before him.
So the dream God gave him 13 years before finally happened. And you know what Joseph told his brothers? The pit had a purpose. The prison had a purpose. And God turned Joseph’s why God into a wow God.
6. The How Long Test
Let’s go to the sixth and final test, which is the how long test. And this is when you have prolonged pain.
Maybe it’s physical, emotional, maybe it’s a situation that’s just been dragging on for years and you’re crying out to God, “How long?”
Go in peace. Your suffering is over.” And maybe you really want to hear that from God right now. You want Jesus You want God to end the season you’re in]
