Let's test that...

Somebody on a forum that I subscribe to asked this question this week:

"Do you tend to 'test' others? If so, in what way?"

Boy, that got me thinking. Do I need that sort of reassurance that things are going well? If I answer yes, does that mean I am insecure? And what happens if they pass or fail?

So I did a little social experiment. Well, in fact, three small ones... there were three jobs that needed to be done by Saturday. Nothing life-threatening, nothing that vital. Three tasks that I didn't have to do myself, but that I usually end up doing. I simply didn't do them. Well, not until I was asked.

I didn't run round after my peers. Instead, I simply waited for these folk to contact me. Let's see if they come back to me! Just to see what would happen...

The result. 33%

Example 1: One person (and I must admit he's terribly well organised!) emailed me just to check that I was still OK with doing the job - and wondered how I was (because I hadn't contacted him!).

Example 2: Apologies, I bottled out, and eventually rang him up at 6pm. He's coming around at 9.30pm tonight. He needs what I have by 10pm tonight.

Example 3: I'm still waiting!!! The job never got done.

Interesting, eh?

Dark Times

Joshua 1:5 (NIV)
No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.

A recent daily reading email that I received today spoke about dark times in our christian experience. These are the times when God tests us - removing some of the supports that we rely on to feel secure - career, money, friends and family, health - to see how you react. It concluded that these are preparation times. Greater things are just ahead.

Somehow, I know I'm in a time like this right now.

And I'm encouraged to simply trust God. Not my feelings, not my past experiences, not even other people. Simply to trust Him. Because even if my friends will let me down, God won't. God never changes. My feelings will come and go, but God is always with us.

The most scary part about the whole thing is that I know this will take time. How long? I don't know. Am I reaching the end of this testing time? Haven't a clue. Another way of thinking about it is as a "Joseph's Pit" experience, which is a reference to the sequence relayed in Genesis 37:23-24. In the story, there's nothing that Joseph could do about it. All he could do was pray and wait upon the Lord.

This week has been a pretty dark one for me. I'm trying to stay focused, keep praying. Holding on!

A Problematic Day

"Problems, problems, problems all day long
Will my problems work out right or wrong?"

from 'Problems' by The Everly Brothers, lyrics written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant

It's one of those days today. The issues are coming thick and fast; no sooner as one problem gets resolved does another get raised. I don't know whether I'm coming or I'm going today. And I think I'm getting a headache!

The one thing that keeps me going today is my faith in my Father in Heaven. He's the reason I can survive today.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (The Message)
"No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it."

Testing, Testing

1 Corinthians 10:13 (New International Version)

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

A blog that I read this morning pointed out that the Greek word for 'temptation' (pirasmos) can also mean 'testing'. This relates to a trial, a testing of your moral fibre. Some people have a difficulty with the concepts of temptation (usually because that usually is accompanied by the idea of someone who sets out to tempt us, not a popular concept in this modern age!), however I'm sure we can all appreciate that we come across issues where our patience or skills are sorely tested. Usually by whatever the world can throw at us!

As we go through life, some of these trials are unavoidable. 'Such is life', we often say. We all suffer from these sort of trials, they are 'common to man', as is mentioned in the passage above. However, we are promised that God will provide 'a way out'. Indeed, sometimes there are multiple ways we can take to solve each trial.

"Why am I being tested?", the Christian may cry. Well, God allows us to be tested because He wants us to succeed. How else can we pass the test if we don't sit the test? And when we are tested, will we choose to follow Man's way (either our own way or one that someone else has devised for us), or God's way? He wants to test the Christian's response to His word and His promises. God is by His own nature faithful, and we should be, too. Which way will we choose?