Will Your Faith Withstand Each Test
By Linda C Dipman
The rain and wind swirled all around the house producing hail that covered the ground as if it had
snowed. It started as a warm spring day with just small clouds in the distance. But within a matter of hours
the day turned cool and massive clouds producing torrential rain pelted my house. I felt confident and
secure because the flat part of my roof had just been newly shingled, but within a few minutes of hard rain,
leaks were filling buckets of water inside my house.
My mood of security did a complete turnaround from calm and peaceful to how could a new roof that
looked so perfect and beautiful turn out to be so bad? For the past two years I had been warned by various
roofers and even my insurance agent that I had better replace the flat roof soon. Now I was emptying
buckets of water and all I could think about was my old roof never leaked!
It is amazing how easy it is to put your faith in something that is brand new thinking that it will last only to
find out later that the old was better. It is like buying a brand new car believing that you will never have to go
to the repair shop at least for the first 50 thousand miles, only to find out that there was a major
manufacturing defect. Or it is like buying a new leather sofa and the dye comes off on your clothes every
time you sit on it.
It seems that every time we put our trust in new things we realize how easily it is to be disappointed. To
understand why we can't depend on the things we can see and hold onto, we must understand the purpose
behind our world. We must understand why the only thing we can place our faith in is an unseen spiritual
God and His purpose for our lives.
Why do I need God? Why can't I achieve worldly goals of living a good life with complete peace and
harmony? Why do roofs, cars, clothes, and even our bodies wear out? Why is everything about this world
temporary?
Hebrews 1: 10-12, "He also said, 'You, Lord, in the beginning created the earth, and with your own hands
you made the heavens. They will disappear, but you will remain: they will all wear out like clothes. You will
fold them up like a coat, and they will be changed like clothes. But you are always the same, and your life
never ends.'"
To have God in your life is to understand why we need Him. When you live in a temporary world where
there is good and evil then it must wear out. This is the reason why we can't count on new things any more
than we can count on old things. Everything has a time and a season and then it will all end. This is the
reason why it is important that we understand why we must place our faith in God.
We were made for a purpose that goes beyond this world. When you live in a temporary world you will
face problems of all kinds to teach you about what is good and what is bad. These difficulties are not to
destroy you but to build your character and bring you to a greater understanding of what is required from
those who pass from this world into the perfect eternity to come. This is the reason why you will be tested in
your life experiences.
Hebrews 2: 5-10, "God has not placed the angels as rulers over the new world to come-the world of which
we speak. Instead, as it is said somewhere in the Scriptures: 'What is man, O God, that you should think of
him; mere man, that you should care for him? You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you
crowned him with glory and honor, and made him ruler over all things. 'It says that God made man "ruler over
all things"; this clearly includes everything. We do not, however, see man ruling over all things now. But we
do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, so that through God's grace he should
die for everyone. We see him now crowned with glory and honor because of the death he suffered. It was
only right that God, who creates and preserves all things, should make Jesus perfect through suffering, in
order to bring many sons to share his glory. For Jesus is the one who leads them to salvation.'"
This is the reason why my brand new roof leaked. God was teaching me not to put my trust in worldly
things or in the safety of my home. I needed to place my faith in Jesus and the knowledge of the brand new
perfect world to come. I needed to believe that He would elevate me because of my suffering to a position
that would even make me greater than the angels, because I did not waver even when rain flooded my home.
I am here to build a solid foundation that will create in me the ability to rule along with Christ in the more
perfect world that is to come.
When you live in an imperfect world you will face difficulties of all kinds so you will mature and grow
through the problems. Faith is built by passing tests! These tests are not meant to destroy you but to teach
you secret truths that can only be explained through what you must achieve in order to receive the full
reward that is promised to you in the perfect world to come. This is why it is a mystery to us here as to why
we must suffer in order to be made ready for heaven. The hard trials we face are measured against us
according to the knowledge we will need in order to do the jobs that are planned for our heavenly life. A plan
that equips us for our spiritual destiny.
If we were to look at our lives as knowledge gained for eternity then we wouldn't be afraid of any
experience we went through during our worldly life. We would be looking forward to the future with
excitement. We would look at our lives and those we love as human souls that are passing through a
learning world to prepare for our perfect job in heaven.
Satan knows how to test a person to the highest level of pain. He does this by making them depend
on the things of the world in order to live. He tries to defeat God's plan by shaking a person's faith through
economic slow downs, natural disasters, death, sickness and anything that makes them turn away from God's
will for their lives. With the mortgage crisis, high gas prices and the increase in inflation every person is put
to the test.
God takes the pain of the tests and He bring us to different levels of spiritual maturity. He Strengthens
our faith through the trials, while laying a strong foundation for us to draw upon in our future experiences.
Each trial answers questions reflecting how much we have learned. Questions like these: Are you placing
your faith in the security of your home or God? Are you believing that no matter what happens God will take
care of you even if it means losing every worldly possession you own? Do you believe that God can help you
start all over again? Are you ready to take your soul to the next level of spiritual maturity in order to prepare
you for the world to come?
The problems Satan uses to destroy our confidence in God; God uses by giving us exciting stories of
survival that help others who may go through the same things. God changes us into more compassionate
loving individuals who reach out to people who are homeless because of natural disasters and gives us the
ability to provide them with shelter. He makes us examples to our neighbors of what faith can do in a
person's life. Most of all He prepares us to rule with wisdom, love and compassion. Just like Jesus learned
from suffering, we gain the same wisdom from our own suffering.
Hebrews 2: 14&15, "Since the children, as he calls them, are people of flesh and blood, Jesus himself
became like them and shared their human nature. He did this so that through his death he might destroy the
Devil, who has the power over death, and in this way set free those who were slaves all their lives because of
their fear of death."
When Jesus Christ is Lord over our lives then we can have confidence when we go through difficult things
that we are not suffering in vain. We are not afraid even of death because we know through scriptures that
even death can not separate us from God's ultimate plan for our lives. For we are assured that no matter
what happens to us we have a future promise. Our confidence is not based on human values but on spiritual
values that can only be measured by the scales present in heaven.
Satan is the enemy of every Christian. He wants to make us falter in our faith. His goal is to rob us of our
security in our homes and make us question God's will for our lives. He wants us to fill abandoned and
alone. He wants to make us afraid of death, homelessness, poverty, and disasters of all kinds. He wants us
to turn away from God and blame Him when we face difficulties in our lives.
Hebrews 3: 12-14, "My fellow believers, be careful that no one among you has a heart so evil and
unbelieving that he will turn away from the living God. Instead, in order that none of you be deceived by sin
and become stubborn, you must help one another every day, as long as the word 'Today' in the scripture
applies to us. For we are all partners with Christ if we hold firmly to the end the confidence we had in the
beginning."
The buckets I emptied from the leaky roof shook my confidence in the security of my home. It made me
fear that I would have to spend more of my hard earned money when my business was slow because of
inflation to redo my roof. But my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior made me unshakable and determined to
cast all of my fears upon Him. I never blamed God for not protecting me from the problem, instead I prayed
and God instructed me on where the leaks began. When I called my roofers, and told them what happened,
they stated what needed to be fixed before I could tell them where I thought the leaks were. It was exactly
what the Holy Spirit said was causing the problem from my leaky roof. They quickly repaired the problem.
God loves people and when we run to Him for help, He will always answer our prayers. It is very important
that you don't turn away from God. Because I believed my Savior could help me during my time of crisis my
faith withstood the test that Satan intended to use to make me crumble and abandon my faith.