"These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold." (1 Peter 1:7a NLT)

God has promised to "meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19 NIV). But with every promise there is a condition. God wants you to learn to trust him more so that he can meet your needs and bless your life.

You learn to trust God more by having your faith stretched by trials. The more your faith is stretched, the more God is able to bless your life. 

You might find yourself experiencing one of the first two trials - the tests of pressure and people. Yesterday, I mentioned two common trials that God uses to develop your faith so you can trust him more. Here are two more:

3. The Persistence Test

The persistence test answers the question: "Will I keep my commitments?" Life is about making commitments. The problem we have today is that most people are half committed to two dozen things instead of being totally committed to the one or two things in life that really matter for now and eternity. That's a waste!

Weak people give excuses. Wise people find the time and way to do what they say they will do. Do you want to be a weak person or a wise person? This is a test of the kind of character you're going to develop. 

4. The Priorities Test

This is the most important test, and it asks, "Who will be first in your life?"

How do you know if God is really first priority in your life? Ask yourself three questions: What do you think about the most? Where does your money go first? How do you spend your time? Your answers will reveal the priorities in your life. 

God has eternal rewards in store for you if you pass these tests: "God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him" (James 1:12 NLT). A crown of life is a symbol of all that God wants to do in your life - all the blessings he wants to bestow on you, all the needs he wants to meet, all the rewards he wants to give you in Heaven. What a deal!

Talk It Over

• How would you rate yourself at following through on commitments? In what areas do you need to simplify so that you can give 100 percent to your commitments?
• How would you answer the three questions that reveal your priorities? How do you need to change your priorities?

"These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold." (1 Peter 1:7a NLT)

The Bible repeatedly says that God has promised to meet your needs: "And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19 NIV).

But the Bible also tells us that with every promise there is a condition. One of the conditions for this promise is that you have to trust him. The more you trust God, the more God is able to meet needs in your life.

So, how can you learn to trust God more so he can meet all of your needs? How can you learn to have greater faith? 

You don't get faith by sitting in a Bible study group or just talking about it. Faith is like a muscle; it develops by being used. The more you use your faith, the more it gets stretched. And the more it gets stretched, the more God is able to bless your life. 

We call the circumstances that God creates to stretch our faith "trials": "These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold" (1 Peter 1:7a NLT).

There are four common trials that God uses to test our faith, and, chances are, you're in one of these tests right now. When you go through them, you can know that it is an opportunity for you to develop your faith so you can trust God more. I'll talk about the first two today and the next two tomorrow.

1. The Pressure Test
   The pressure test asks the question, "How will you handle stress?" Will you depend on yourself, or will you depend on God? Psalm 50:15 says, "Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me" (NIV). Do you turn to God when you're in trouble and not to other things?
    
2. The People Test
   God often uses people in your life to test and stretch and develop your faith. This test asks the question, "How will you handle disappointment?" Life is often disappointing. Careers, marriages, and even plans don't turn out the way we planned them. But the most disappointing thing in life is people. Why? We get disappointed by people because we expect them to meet a need that only God himself can meet. This is a test!

Your problem is not the people in your life. Your problem is your response to the people in your life. People are not the problem, and they're not the answer to the problem, either. The answer is God. When you expect other people to be your savior, you're setting yourself up for disappointment. 

Jeremiah 17:7 says, "Blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence" (NLT). What happens if you trust in the Lord? Look at God's promise in Isaiah 49:23: "Those who hope in me will not be disappointed" (NIV).

Talk It Over

• Which of these tests is God using in your life right now to stretch your faith?
• How will you choose to respond to the stress and people in your life that are testing your faith?

"Since we have been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us." (Romans 5:1 NLT)

If you want to have deep, personal, satisfying peace of mind in heart and soul, you've got to surrender control of your life totally to God. How do you know if you've done that?

Evidence of a surrendered life is always obedience. When God says, "Do it!" I do it. I don't care if I don't understand it, if anybody else is doing it, if it's possible or not, if it's hard or easy. I just do it.

When you listen to God's Word and follow his direction, the result is always the same: peace.

Today, you may be in an uncontrollable circumstance. You may be married to an unchangeable person. You may be experiencing an unexplainable problem. The good news is you can have the peace of God in your life. But first, you have to make peace with God. You can't have the peace of God until you first make peace with God. How do you do that? By surrendering your entire life in faith to Jesus Christ. "Since we have been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us" (Romans 5:1 NLT).

Aren't you tired of being at war with God? Don't you realize that is the single greatest source of stress in your life? What is the result of being in control of your life? Worry, guilt, bitterness, resentment, anxiety, fear, fatigue, depression, and despair. What is the result of putting Jesus Christ first in your life and being fully surrendered to whatever he wants? Peace, power, strength, wisdom, purpose, meaning, eternal life, significance, and joy.

Would you pray this prayer in your heart? 

"Dear Father, you know how I have resented the problems in my life, and you know how I have resisted the things that have caused me pain that I can't change. You know that I've asked you many times for an explanation that has never come.

Today, I want to stop fighting you over things I don't understand. Forgive me. I want to begin the path of personal peace. So I ask you for help. Help me to change the things that I can, and help me to accept the things that cannot be changed. Help me, Jesus, to trust in your loving care when things don't make sense. Help me to trust that you are a good God and that you have my best interest at heart.

Today, I make an unconditional surrender of all my life to your loving care and control. Please give me your strength and wisdom and peace and purpose. I want to make peace with God by faith so that I can have the peace of God through you, Jesus Christ. Amen."