Why Testing? Part 2

Scripture Reading: James 3:9-12

Key Verse: Job 1:11

But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”

The devil told God that Job would curse if God removed the protective hedge He had put around Job. The first thing I want to praise God for is the fact that He has a protective hedge available for His children! I’m so glad that God can and does put us within this hedge for much of our lives here on earth! Will there be times when God allows the gate to be open for our testing period? Yes. Remember, Jesus taught us, in the last phrases of the “Lord’s Prayer,” to request protection and rest from these tests! They won’t last long, and they will never, ever, be more than God knows you can handle!

The second thing we can learn about these tests is what kind of answer God is looking for. In one sense, Job’s experience is like a “cheat sheet” for us. These tests are looking for words or attitudes of praise or cursing. Now you can look back over a test and know, in part, whether you’ve passed or not! During the tough times—the life reversals—do you praise or curse God? This can be taken literally or figuratively. For some Christ followers, one of the first things they need to learn is how to deal with life without, literally, cursing. Using God’s name in vain, along with other crude language is out of place among God’s children. When things go wrong in our lives and our emotions are in high gear, is there any cursing going on? Our tests reveal these answers.

Father, forgive me for any words that weren’t honoring to you that slipped out while I dealt with the tough issues. In Jesus’ Name, amen.