Judges 3:4  These people were left to test the Israelites—to see whether they would obey the commands the Lord had given to their ancestors through Moses. (NLT)

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Few things strike fear into an unprepared student’s heart like the words Pop Quiz. Fifty years after I first heard the term, I still recall the terror of ten questions over new material I was only vaguely familiar with as I wondered what I could do to recover from my failure. 

Failure was not an option, but it was, at that moment, a most uncomfortable reality. 

So, take out your pencils and a blank sheet of paper, . . .

Most normal people avoid tests as often as possible. Yet testing is a servant revealing to us and those who help us master our best next steps just how far we have come and just how far we have to go. For example, an Old Testament professor from years ago would look at the sentence before this one and cross through two words and label them junk adverbs. I think about this fact every time I’m tempted to write “just” outside of its legal definition. 

Testing helps us deeply embed truths that stand the test of time. Testing helps us master ideas that will serve us well throughout our lives. 

James 1:3 says it this way: “For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.”

Testing gives us opportunities to grow. Testing can make us stronger and wiser. James goes on to say in verse 4, “So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”

Testing reveals our present capacity in preparation for challenges to come. “So let it grow.” A growth mindset welcomes testing. It sees testing as preparation, as exercise leading to endurance, and as necessary development along the way toward successful completion and mature provision.

There will be tests today. Prepare your heart and mind now. Ask God to make you ever more emotionally intelligent, which will empower you to respond appropriately to challenges and not react. Ask him to give you the strength, stamina, knowledge, and intelligence necessary for everything you will face today. 

Let the tests that come lead us to greater success and greater dependence on God’s wisdom and empowering presence. 

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I will prepare for the tests ahead of me today by living what I have already learned and by attempting to use what I am seeking to master for moments like those sure to come. 

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Our Father, as King David bravely prayed in Psalm 139:23 and 24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” Amen.