Every day God tests us through people, pain, or problems. Stop and consider your circumstances. Can you identify the tests of today? Snarling traffic? Threatening weather? Aching joints?
If you see your troubles as nothing more than isolated hassles and hurts, you’ll grow bitter and angry. Yet if you see your troubles as tests used by God for His glory and your maturity, then even the smallest incidents take on significance.
I remember one Saturday afternoon that turned into a tough test. Denalyn and I had a disagreement. We had agreed to sell our house, but we couldn’t agree on a real estate agent. I had my opinion, and she had hers. Back and forth we went, neither able to convince the other. A pleasant day turned sour. She retreated into her corner and I into mine.
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We have Saturday worship services at our church. When the time came for me to leave and preach, I gave Denalyn a perfunctory goodbye and walked out the door to do God’s work. “We’ll deal with this later,” I told her. But God wanted to deal with me immediately. The distance between my house and the church building is only a five-minute drive. But that is all it took for God to prick my conscience with the truth. Shouldn’t you be at peace with your wife before you preach to my church?
It was a test. Would I pout or apologize? Would I ignore the tension or deal with it? I can’t say I always pass the tests, but this time I did. Before the service began, I called Denalyn, apologized for my stubbornness, and asked for her forgiveness. Later that night we reached a decision on a real estate agent. We prayed together and put the matter to rest.
Each day has a pop quiz. And some seasons are final exams. Brutal, sudden pitfalls of stress, sickness, or sadness. Like Joseph, you did your best. Like Joseph, your best was rewarded with incarceration. What is the purpose of the test? Why didn’t God keep Joseph out of prison? Might this be the answer? “For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing” (James 1:3–4 NLT).
This chapter in your life looks like rehab, smells like unemployment, sounds like a hospital, but ask the angels. “Oh, she is in training.” God hasn’t forgotten you. Just the opposite. He has chosen to train you. The Hebrew verb for test comes from a word that means “to take a keen look at, to look, to choose.” Dismiss the notion that God does not see your struggle. On the contrary, God is fully engaged. He sees the needs of tomorrow and, accordingly, uses your circumstances to create the test of today.
Does He not have the authority to do so? He is the Potter; we are the clay. He is the Shepherd; we are the sheep. He is the Gardener; we are the branches. He is the Teacher; we are the students. Trust his training. Don’t give up. You’ll get through this. If God can make a prince out of a prisoner, like He did for Joseph in the Old Testament, don’t you think He can make something good out of your mess?
Remember, all tests are temporary. They are limited in duration. “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials” (1 Peter 1:6 NIV). Tests never last forever because this life doesn’t last forever. “We were born but yesterday … Our days on earth are as fleeting as a shadow” (Job 8:9 NLT). Some tests end on earth, but all tests will end in Heaven.
In the meantime, follow Joseph’s example. Let God train you. He is watching the way you handle the little jobs. If you are faithful with a few matters, he will set you over many (Matt. 25:21). Joseph succeeded in the kitchen and dungeon before he succeeded in the court. He cared for the butler and baker before he cared for the nations. The reward of good work is greater work. Do you aspire to great things? Excel in the small things. Show up on time. Finish your work early. Don’t complain. Let others grumble in the corner of the prison cell. Not you. You know how God shapes His servants. Today’s prisoner may become tomorrow’s prime minister. When you are given a task, take it on. Life is a required course. Might as well do your best to pass it.
God is at work in each of us whether we know it or not, whether we want it or not. “He takes no pleasure in making life hard, in throwing roadblocks in the way” (Lam. 3:33 MSG). He does not relish our sufferings, but he delights in our development. “God began doing a good work in you, and I am sure he will continue it until it is finished when Jesus Christ comes again” (Phil. 1:6 NCV). He will not fail. He cannot fail. He will “work in us what is pleasing to him” (Heb. 13:21 NIV).
Every challenge, large or small, can equip you for a future opportunity.
Excerpted from Never Give Up: God is Good When Life Isn’t (Thomas Nelson).
With more than 140 million books in print, Max Lucado has been dubbed “America’s Pastor” by Christianity Today, “The Best Preacher in America” by Reader’s Digest, and the “Ted Lasso of Pastors” by the Dallas Morning News. His latest book is Never Give Up: God is Good When Life Isn’t, releasing in April 2025. Max Lucado has penned more than 40 works of adult nonfiction, standing alongside dozens and dozens of bestselling children’s books, gift books, Bible studies, commentaries, and collections. His books have been published in 56 languages worldwide and regularly appear on bestseller lists, including The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, and USA Today. He has been pastoring in San Antonio at Oak Hills Church since 1988. Learn more at www.MaxLucado.com.
