The Going Through Test

Facing Our Goliaths: do not panic because this too shall pass.

Testing and tempting

If you remain faithful under trials, then you can be happy. If you pass the test, you will be rewarded with a life that was promised to you.

- adapted

Before we can be promoted in any area of our lives, we must first be tested. Sometimes, we will be tested in more than one way. These tests prove whether or not we are ready for that particular promotion.

Therefore, the time has come for us to stop running away from the challenges that we are facing. It is high time we stop putting off dealing with those difficult things. Let us look at the story of David and Goliath as an example.

David and Goliath

David told Saul that no one should be afraid of the Philistine Goliath. Consequently, he was willing to fight him. Saul was concerned that David was just a little boy and Goliath had been a soldier all his life!

David told Saul that he takes care of his father’s sheep. Any time a lion or a bear carries off a lamb, he goes after it, attacks it, and rescues the lamb. On the occasions where the lion or bear turned on him, he would grab its throat and beat it to death.

David was confident that he could do the same to Goliath. He had been saved from lions and bears, he was sure that he would be saved from this Philistine.

David defeats Goliath

Goliath approached David with scorn calling down curses on him.

David, however, was confident saying to Goliath:

“You are coming against me with a sword, spear, and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Almighty...",

David eventually defeated Goliath with a sling and stone! He flung the stone at Goliath which hit him in the forehead breaking his skull.

This Goliath Too Shall Pass

We all have Goliaths that we must face. Whether our Goliath is a lifetime of bad relationships, a lifetime of bad choices or we have a mountain of bad debt, first, we must decide to stop letting it (or them) make us feel guilty.

The trick to dealing with several Goliaths is to take them one at a time. Attack one Goliath, succeed at it, and then move on to another. We will get overwhelmed if we try to deal with everything at the same time. We must seek guidance if needed because we can not do it alone.

The Consequence of Running from Our Goliaths

Conquering our Goliaths is not easy, but it is doable. We must learn to do it afraid. We must learn not to get scared and run from our battles. The fact is that we can run, but we just can not hide (not for too long at least).

Running will only result in us going around the mountain time and time again. We get to redo each test until we pass – we never get to fail. If we have something to do, and we run away from it then it will reappear somewhere else in our lives.

A word of encouragement

We are not going to get everything we want in life. Consequently, we will need to learn how to be happy and content where we are. Believe it or not, where we are now is exactly where we should be. Facing our Goliaths will help us to become more confident in who we are as a person.

We must be encouraged when we are going through a difficult time. We may feel like we are not doing it alone and that no one understands. Do not panic, this too shall pass.

What Goliaths have you been putting off? What steps will you take today to overcome them?

Dare to believe in the power of you!

What is the Going Through Test?

We all go through hard times and in going through these trials, we must learn how to overcome them. These difficult times provide us with the opportunity to grow in our faith. Faith is like a muscle and like any other muscle, it develops by being used. The more we use our faith, the more it gets stretched.

Trials reveal to us what we really believe and what is really inside our hearts. When we understand the purpose of our tests in life, we can face them with a joyous attitude. We will then learn how to live in peace and wisdom regardless of our external circumstances.

Common Going Through Tests

Pastor Rick Warren, the Senior Pastor of Saddleback Church and author of A Purpose Driven Life, discussed the 4 common trials that test our faith.

1. The Pressure Test: this asks the question “How will I handle stress?” Will we depend on ourselves or otherwise?
2. The People Test: the people in our lives are often used to test, stretch, and develop our faiths. This test asks the question, “How will I handle disappointment?”
3. The Persistence Test: this answers the question “Will I keep my commitments?” After all, life is all about making commitments.
4. The Priorities Test: this is the most important test and it asks “Who will be first in my life?” Who or what will really take the first priority in our lives? Ask yourself these 3 questions: i) What do I think about the most? ii) Where does my money go first? and iii) How do I spend my time? Our answers will reveal the priorities in our lives.

How to Pass the Going Through Tests

To pass the going through test, we must learn to trust and avoid destructive behavior, thoughts, and/or attitudes. For example, we must not:

• Go back to an old habit or addiction that we were set free from.
• Resent persons who are not going through the same trails that we are facing.
• Grudge people who have what we want, especially those things that we believe will make our lives much easier.
• Become disgruntled and start blaming others for our trials.

Final reflection

Think back to an example of when you were going through a difficult time and thought that you were not going to make it through to the other side.

How did you feel during that time?

Did you learn anything about yourself during that time?

Did things work out for your good?

How did you feel when you made it through to the other side?