Stages of Passing God’s Test.

When we face adversity, Satan tells us that God does not love us. When God wants to advance us, he first puts us through a test. This is always referred to as a test stage. Individuals lose sight of God's love.  God is right there with you, observing and testing you to see if you will pass that level and move on. Before a baby can walk, he or she goes through several stages.

 The pre-baby stage is when a baby learns to sit, crawl, and roll over. When they learn to take their first steps and the mother recognizes that the baby is ready to walk, she allows the baby to walk on his or her own.

 The same Spirit who descended on Jesus in the form of a dove led him into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil as he was filled with the Holy Spirit. The wilderness, through which God led the Israelites with the help of God's servant Moses, and where God frequently painfully tested Israel.

The Spirit of God has led Jesus to be tempted by the devil in the wilderness, that unruly and wild place. So, who was doing the testing in this case? The temptations were orchestrated by Satan, but the test was orchestrated by God.

The spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the Devil, after forty days and nights without food, Jesus was starving. When the Devil persuaded Jesus to turn stones into bread, he replied, "Human beings cannot live solely on bread, but require every word God speaks." The second temptation was for Jesus to throw himself from the highest point of the temple and command angels to catch him. Following the enormous spiritual "high" of Jesus' baptism, when the heavens opened and a voice said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

God the Father was putting Jesus, God's Son, to the test. This may sound difficult to believe, even harsh, but that is ultimately what is happening here. At first, Satan may have been the one challenging Jesus, urging him to prioritize his material needs over his relationship with God. But Jesus is unmoved. When Satan challenges Jesus again, this time with an offer of worldly power in exchange for his worship. Jesus rebukes the devil, saying, "Worship the Lord your God and serve only him." Finally, the devil encourages Jesus to put God to the test by jumping from the Temple's pinnacle because God would surely save his Son. "Do not put the Lord your God to the test," Jesus says again, rebuffing Satan. The devil is cast out, and Jesus has passed his test. But Satan will return...

God frequently puts His servants to the test. There are numerous examples of God testing those he has called or is calling in the Old Testament. Think about Abraham and Isaac. The story of Abraham being called to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac is one of the most terrifying stories in the Old Testament. In the King James Version, Genesis 22 says, "And it came to pass after these things that God did tempt Abraham..." The temptation was to "take now your son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and... offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell you of." Is this where God tried to tempt Abraham? Was God attempting to persuade Abraham to do the wrong thing? No, what happened in this story was that God was testing Abraham.

God had called Abraham to be his servant, and now he would face the ultimate test of loyalty. Nothing on earth made Abraham happier than his son Isaac. The test was whether Abraham loved God more. Did Abraham prefer the gift or the giver?

God provides the growth, and much of that growth comes from facing tests and temptations and, like Jesus, passing those tests and resisting temptation.

God is glorified as you resist temptation, and you become a better witness to God's power. Friends, trust in the Lord and lean on Jesus at all times, not just when you are tested. My prayer is that your eyes will be opened to a deeper understanding of God's sovereignty.