Your Faith Will Be Tested

Life was designed by God to be a very dynamic journey. It’s often filled with wonderful highs and devastating lows. It ebbs and flows, and this is to be expected. God didn’t keep it a secret that life would be challenging, but life wasn’t designed by God to be one big tragedy. Through Christ, it is meant to be one big victory. Yes, there is evil and darkness in the world. It can be a very disappointing and sad place, but 1John 5:4(NLT) declares, “For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.”

Being a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ and choosing to follow him with our whole lives is the best decision anyone could ever make. It’s why we are here on this earth! We’re here to decide who we are going to follow, hate or love, peace or chaos, fear or faith, darkness or the light. God is continually rooting for all of us to choose His glorious light. 1Timothy 2:4(NLT) tells us that God “wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.”

God doesn’t have favorites. He wants every person that is living, and that has ever lived, to be saved and full of His love and light, but everyone will not make this choice. 2Corinthians 4:4(NLT) tells us the very reason that people don’t make this choice. It says that, “Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.” It is very important that we understand this, so that we recognize plots against us and stand strong in faith against all the strategies of the devil.

God commands us as His children of light to go higher in Christ. This means that we should be taking off those attributes and qualities that do not please God and do not represent Christ. These are things like lying, jealousy, envy, doubt, fear, bitterness, resentment, and pride. In their place, we should be putting on more of the love, peace, joy, compassion, generosity, and faith of Jesus Christ. As we set our minds and hearts to put off those things that hold us back and excel in those things of Christ that propel us forward and higher, the devil will attempt to trick us. This is so that we will not increase in the power and authority of Jesus Christ. Instead, the enemy’s plot is designed to trick us into abdicating our power and giving it over to him and his kingdom of darkness.

There are times when we feel secure and confident, and the devil will try to sneak in and undermine our standing by sending someone or doing something to rock our faith in God. Our relationship with Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ is what the enemy wants to destroy. God tells us in 1Peter 5:8(NLT), “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” By this, you should know that sometimes, when things in your life finally seem to be lining up with what you know God has promised, the enemy will be up to his evil shenanigans and cause something disappointing to happen. This is the place where our faith is tested, and we have a choice to make. We can walk away feeling defeated and low. We can think to ourselves that every time we take one step forward, something always knocks us two steps backward, so what’s the use. This isn’t the choice God wants us to make.

He wants us to refuse to give in and rally in faith! Even though we feel stuck and devastated, we shouldn’t lose hope when things like these happen. Instead, we must recognize that the devil is attempting to knock us off the path because he can smell that we are close to the blessing that God has in store.

We must get into the habit of encouraging ourselves in the Lord. The psalmist, David, said in Psalm 23:4(NLT), “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.” No weapon that the devil forms will prosper, and the ingredient to ensuring this is our faith in God. Heavenly Father is our Rock, and we can depend on His every Word. Proverbs 30:5(NLT) says “Every word of God proves true. He is a shield to all who come to him for protection.” Regardless of what is thrown our way, even when it looks like satan’s weapons are prospering against us, God will give us the victory. This is what we must tell ourselves repeatedly, so that the truth of His Word is etched in our minds and hearts.

Romans 10:17(NLT) says, “So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.” Faith comes from hearing and being encouraged by the Word of God. This doesn’t mean that you always have to hear this Word being preached from a pulpit. Your own voice is the authority you trust most. Speak the Word to yourself. Repeat it continually so that it saturates your brain cells and becomes a part of you.

Ephesians 6:11(NLT) commands, “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.” To be strong in the Lord and in His power, we must put on His armor, and His armor is the truth of His Word. To stand firm against the enemy’s devices, we must arm ourselves with the truth, because this is the only way to resist the devil’s attack.

God has equipped us fully through Jesus Christ. We are in no way without the spiritual weapons needed to walk in the victory of Christ. But it’s up to us to choose to wear the armor God has provided. Yes, our faith will be tested by the devil. Our weak spots can be pricked, and this hurt can set us back. We might fall, but through Christ we can and should get up and recognize that God will always have the last Word.

No matter what we go through, no matter how much we are tested, we must remember that we have an advocate, Jesus Christ! He is our Big Brother, our Great Redeemer and Lord, and he will always have our backs. Our Heavenly Father has given us the victory through Jesus Christ, and we can outsmart the devil every time if we remain strong and unmovable in our faith in God. ■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

“Your Faith Will Be Tested”, written for Christian Encouragement and Inspiration© 2022. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.