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Passing the Test

"Blessed (happy, to be envied) is the man who is patient under trial and stands up under temptation, for when he has stood the test and been approved, he will receive [the victor's] crown of life which God has promised to those who love Him." James 1:12

From Luke 4:13, We can observe that Jesus was tempted and tested in every possible way in the wilderness during the trial period of 40 days. He came out of the test victoriously in spite of being constantly subjected to tests.

In the same way, Joseph came out victoriously after being tempted by the woman. The woman had tried to seduce him time after time but he would not listen to her, yield to her or to be with her (Genesis 39:10).

I am wondering how did they come out victoriously?

It was not by luck or mere coincidence that they could come out unscathed from the trials. Here is what we could observe from the Bible -
  1. The Lord was with Joseph - Genesis 39:2, 3. Please read my other blog "Key to Fruitfulness" to understand how we can be assured that God's presence is with us.
  2. Joseph held himself accountable to God - Genesis 39:9. Having assurance that his God is living God and He is constantly with him. One of the key reasons for David's fall was lack of accountability. Please read "Fall of David - Man after God's own heart".
  3. Joseph was faithful to his earthly master - Many times we ignore the importance of being faithful to our earthly masters or authorities. But we can see from Joseph's case that it helped him to say "NO" to the temptation.
  4. Jesus was full of Holy Spirit - Luke 4:1.
  5. Jesus was controlled by Holy Spirit.
  6. Jesus was led by Holy Spirit.
  7. Jesus was well versed with the scriptures - With the understanding of the scriptures, He knows how to live (Luke 4:4), whom to worship (Luke 4:8) and how to relate to God (Luke 4:12).
We should realize that God allows us to go through only those tests and trials which we can bear. He trains us, equips us before allowing us to go through the test. Above all He provides the way of solution too. His desire is to build our character in the process and bring us out triumphantly.
"God is faithful [to His Word and to His compassionate nature], and He [can be trusted] not to let you be tempted and tried and assayed beyond your ability and strength of resistance and power to endure, but with the temptation He will [always] also provide the way out (the means of escape to a landing place), that you may be capable and strong and powerful to bear up under it patiently." 1 Corinthians 10:13
Questions to Ponder:
  1. What is your attitude towards trails, tests and temptations?
  2. Who is controlling you?
  3. Whom are you accountable to?
  4. Are you feeding on God's word on a continual basis?

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