In this verse, Jacob says that God has been
with him wherever he has gone. Does the thought of God being with you wherever
you go make you uncomfortable? Haven’t we all been places where God would be uncomfortable and
unwelcome? Perhaps if we gave some thought to the fact that we carry God with
us wherever we go we would be more selective about the places we take him.
But now let’s talk about the places where God takes us – places that are sometimes worse than uncomfortable. Places
that make us feel that God isn’t there but, as Jacob testifies, even in our
distress he is with us. These are the places where God tests us and allows us
to be tested. Hebrews 11: 17 states clearly that God tested Abraham.
A test has been described as “a difficult experience through which a person’s true values, commitments, and beliefs are revealed.”* God allows us to be tested in order to reveal the validity, not the weakness, of our faith.* According to I Peter 1: 7, when our faith is proved to be genuine, the result is praise, glory, and honor to Jesus Christ - in other words: “The test becomes a testimony.”*
As you face testing, find strength and
comfort in knowing that God only tests his
people and that it is for our good and his glory.
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