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Before God Uses You_ He Will Give You These 7 Tests _ Christian Reflection · truthunedited

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Speaker 1: Have you ever wondered why some people are powerfully used
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Speaker 1: by God while others seem stuck in their spiritual journey.
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Speaker 1: The answer might surprise you. Before using someone in extraordinary ways,
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Speaker 1: God always puts them through specific tests, not to punish them,
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Speaker 1: but to prepare them. In the first of these tests
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Speaker 1: is also one of the most intense, the wilderness. To
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Speaker 1: understand this test, let's explore the journey of Jesus, who
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Speaker 1: face the wilderness before beginning his public ministry. In Matthew
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Speaker 1: chapter three, we see Jesus being baptized in the Jordan River.
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Speaker 1: The heavens opened, the Holy Spirit descended upon him like
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Speaker 1: a dove, and the voice of the Father declared, this
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Speaker 1: is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.
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Speaker 1: It was a moment of great revelation and anointing. But
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Speaker 1: what happened next is surprising. In Matthew chapter four, immediately
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Speaker 1: after this glorious moment, we encounter a dramatic turn. Then
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Speaker 1: Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to
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Speaker 1: be tempted by the devil. Notice that it wasn't Satan
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Speaker 1: who led him there, it was the Holy Spirit himself.
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Speaker 1: The text continues after fasting forty days and forty nights,
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Speaker 1: he was hungry. Jesus, the Son of God, was deliberately
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Speaker 1: led to a place of extreme isolation and deprivation. Luke
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Speaker 1: Chapter four provides additional details revealing that Jesus was full
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Speaker 1: of the Holy Spirit when he was led into the wilderness.
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Speaker 1: This highlights something extraordinary. Being filled with the spirit doesn't
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Speaker 1: always mean moments of glory and powerful manifestations. Sometimes it
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Speaker 1: means being led to a place of solitude and testing.
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Speaker 1: In Mark chapter one, the evangelist adds another striking detail.
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Speaker 1: Jesus was among the wild animals picture the scene. The
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Speaker 1: son of God, whom moments earlier had received public approval
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Speaker 1: from the Father, was now alone in a hostile environment.
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Speaker 1: The contrary couldn't be greater. From the crowded Jordan River
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Speaker 1: to the absolute solitude of the Judean wilderness. For forty
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Speaker 1: days and forty nights, Jesus experienced the deepest isolation imaginable,
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Speaker 1: no food, no water beyond the bare minimum, no human companionship,
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Speaker 1: Enduring the scorching heat by day and freezing cold by night.
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Speaker 1: The Judean wilderness was not a friendly place. It was
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Speaker 1: an arid rocky region with extreme temperatures and constant dangers.
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Speaker 1: In Matthew chapter four, verse two, the text tells us
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Speaker 1: that after this period he was hungry. This wasn't ordinary hunger.
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Speaker 1: It was devastating hunger after forty days without food. It
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Speaker 1: was at this moment of extreme physical weakness that the
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Speaker 1: tempter approached. If you are the son of God, command
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Speaker 1: these stones to become bred. The first temptation targeted the
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Speaker 1: most basic human need, hunger. It was a seemingly reasonable proposition.
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Speaker 1: After all, what harm could there be in turning stones
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Speaker 1: into bread? Jesus had the power. He was hungry, he
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Speaker 1: was alone. No one would know one. But here lay
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Speaker 1: the heart of the matter. The wilderness wasn't about immediate satisfaction.
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Speaker 1: It was about complete dependence on God. Jesus response, recorded
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Speaker 1: in Matthew chapter four, verse four, reveals the true purpose
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Speaker 1: of the wilderness. Man shall not live on bread alone,
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Speaker 1: but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
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Speaker 1: In the most barren and solitary place imaginable, Jesus demonstrated
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Speaker 1: that God's word was his true sustenance. The isolation wasn't
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Speaker 1: a punishment, It was a time of deep intimacy with
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Speaker 1: the Father. In the wilderness, there were no crowds to impress,
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Speaker 1: there were no disciples to teach, there were no miracles
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Speaker 1: to perform. There was only Jesus and his Father. His
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Speaker 1: screaming physical needs didn't make him abandon his spiritual dependence.
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Speaker 1: The extreme loneliness didn't make him seek short cuts. The
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Speaker 1: discomfort didn't make him question his identity. Each day in
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Speaker 1: the wilderness was a day of choices, a choice to
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Speaker 1: trust or doubt, to wait or act on his own,
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Speaker 1: to remain dependent on God or seek immediate solutions. The
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Speaker 1: wilderness tested every aspect of jesus character, not to prove
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Speaker 1: something to God, but to demonstrate to humanity that it
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Speaker 1: is possible to remain faithful even under the most extreme circumstances.
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Speaker 1: The number forty was no coincidence. In the Bible. Forty
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Speaker 1: is the number of preparation and testing. It rained for
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Speaker 1: forty days and nights during the flood, Moses spent forty
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Speaker 1: days on Mount Sinai, and Israel wandered in the desert
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Speaker 1: for forty years. Jesus spent forty days in total isolation,
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Speaker 1: and each one of those days had a specific purpose
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Speaker 1: in his preparation. Luke chapter four, verse fourteen shows the
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Speaker 1: outcome of this test. Jesus returned to Galilee in the
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Speaker 1: power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through
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Speaker 1: the whole countryside. The same spirit who led him into
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Speaker 1: the wilderness now led him into public ministry. The time
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Speaker 1: of isolation was over, but its lessons remained forever. Jesus
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Speaker 1: wilderness experience teaches us that before every great commission, there
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Speaker 1: is a time of preparation in solitude, before public ministry
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Speaker 1: comes private testing. Before feeding the multitudes with bread, Jesus
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Speaker 1: had to trust the Father for his own bread in
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Speaker 1: the wilderness. Before teaching the crowds about the Word, he
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Speaker 1: had to live by it in complete isolation. The second
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Speaker 1: trial God uses to prepare someone is the test of waiting,
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Speaker 1: and no one embodies this test better than Abraham. In
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Speaker 1: Genesis chapter twelve we find the calling of this man
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Speaker 1: who would become the Father of Faith. Abram, as he
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Speaker 1: was then known, was seventy five years old when he
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Speaker 1: heard the voice of God. Leave your country, your people,
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Speaker 1: and your father's household, and go to the land. I
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Speaker 1: will show you. I will make you into a great nation,
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Speaker 1: and I will bless you. I will make your name great,
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Speaker 1: and you will be a blessing without hesitation. Abram left
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Speaker 1: or of the Chaldeans, taking with him his wife Sarah
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Speaker 1: and his nephew Lot. Genesis twelve four records so Abram
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Speaker 1: went as the Lord had told him. The promise was clear.
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Speaker 1: He would become the father of a great nation. Yet
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Speaker 1: there was one crucial detail that the text does not hide.
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Speaker 1: Genesis eleven thirty reveals SARAHI was childless because she was
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Speaker 1: not able to conceive. The years began to pass. In
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Speaker 1: j Genesis fifteen, we see Abram in a moment of
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Speaker 1: vulnerability before God. After this, the word of the Lord
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Speaker 1: came to Abram in a vision. Do not be afraid, Abram,
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Speaker 1: I am your shield, your very great reward. But Abram responded,
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Speaker 1: Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless?
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Speaker 1: God's response was extraordinary. In Genesis fifteen five we read
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Speaker 1: he took him outside and said, look up at the
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Speaker 1: sky and count the stars. If indeed you can count them,
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Speaker 1: then he said to him, so shall your offspring be.
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Speaker 1: The passage continues with a foundational statement. Abram believed the Lord,
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Speaker 1: and he credited it to him as righteousness, but the
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Speaker 1: waiting continued. In Genesis sixteen, we see SARAHI taking matters
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Speaker 1: into her own hands. Ten years had passed since the
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Speaker 1: initial promise. The Lord has kept me from having children.
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Speaker 1: Go sleep with my slave. Perhaps I can build a
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Speaker 1: family through her. This was a common practice in those days,
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Speaker 1: but it was not God's plan. Ishmael was born when
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Speaker 1: Abram was eighty six years old. Yet in Genesis seventeen,
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Speaker 1: thirteen years later, God appeared to Abram again. When Abram
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Speaker 1: was ninety nine years old, the Lord appeared to him
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Speaker 1: and said, I am God Almighty. Walk before me faithfully
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Speaker 1: and be blameless. It was at this moment that God
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Speaker 1: changed his name to Abraham, meaning father of many nations.
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Speaker 1: The promise was renewed, but with an important clarification. The
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Speaker 1: child of the promise would come through Sarai, now renamed Sarah.
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Speaker 1: In Genesis seventeen seventeen, Abraham's reaction is revealing. Abraham fell
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Speaker 1: face down. He laughed and said to himself, will a
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Speaker 1: son be born to a man a hundred years old?
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Speaker 1: Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?
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Speaker 1: In Genesis eighteen three, visitors came to Abraham's tent. One
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Speaker 1: of them, The Lord himself made a specific declaration, I
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Speaker 1: will surely return to you about this time next year,
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Speaker 1: and Sarah, your wife, will have a son. Sarah, listening
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Speaker 1: at the entrance of the tent, laughed to herself. The
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Speaker 1: Lord's response was direct, is anything too hard for the Lord?
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Speaker 1: The waiting continued, but now with a defined time line. Finally,
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Speaker 1: in Genesis twenty one the moment arrived. Now the Lord
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Speaker 1: was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the
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Speaker 1: Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became
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Speaker 1: pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age,
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Speaker 1: at the very time God had promised him. Twenty five
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Speaker 1: years had passed since the initial promise. Abraham was one
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Speaker 1: hundred years old when Isaac was born. The boy's name,
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Speaker 1: which means laughter, was a constant reminder of the journey
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Speaker 1: of faith, from the life after of disbelief to the
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Speaker 1: laughter of joy. In Genesis twenty one six, Sarah declared,
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Speaker 1: God has brought me laughter, and every one who hears
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Speaker 1: about this will laugh with me. During these twenty five
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Speaker 1: years of waiting, Abraham was not idle. He built altars,
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Speaker 1: moved multiple times fought battles, formed alliances, and interceded for cities.
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Speaker 1: Yet the central promise, the child through whom the great
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Speaker 1: nation would come, remained unfulfilled. Each passing year made the
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Speaker 1: promise seem more humanly impossible. The waiting tested every aspect
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Speaker 1: of Abraham's faith. It tested his patience. Twenty five years
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Speaker 1: is a long time to wait for a promise. It
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Speaker 1: tested his trust. The longer the wait, the more impossible
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Speaker 1: it seemed. It tested his character. The temptation to help
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Speaker 1: God through Hagar showed that even the Father of faith
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Speaker 1: was vulnerable to taking short cuts. In Romans four, the
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Speaker 1: apostle Paul reflects on this journey of faith without weakening
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Speaker 1: in his faith. He faced the fact that his body
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Speaker 1: was as good as dead since he was about a
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Speaker 1: hundred years old, and that Sarah's womb was also dead.
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Speaker 1: Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise
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Speaker 1: of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave
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Speaker 1: glory to God. Hebrews six fifteen summarizes the entire journey
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Speaker 1: in a powerful phrase. And so, after waiting patiently, Abraham
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Speaker 1: received what was promised. The word patiently here does not
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Speaker 1: imply passive waiting, but active perseverance, maintaining faith alive even
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Speaker 1: when everything seemed to contradict the promise. The third test
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Speaker 1: God uses to shape his chosen ones is humility, and
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Speaker 1: no one exemplifies this journey better than David. In Verse
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Speaker 1: Samuel chapter sixteen, we find the prophet Samuel visiting the
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Speaker 1: house of Jesse in Bethlehem, following divine guidance to anoint
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Speaker 1: a new king for Israel. What happened that day would
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Speaker 1: forever change the life of a young shepherd. When Samuel arrived,
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Speaker 1: Jesse presented his sons, starting with the eldest. In First
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Speaker 1: Samuel sixteen six, the prophet looked at Eliab, the first born,
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Speaker 1: and thought, surely, the Lord's anointed stands here before the Lord.
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Speaker 1: But God corrected him with words that would echo through
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Speaker 1: the centuries. Do not consider his appearance or his height,
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Speaker 1: for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look
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Speaker 1: at the things people look at. People look at the
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Speaker 1: outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. One
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Speaker 1: by one, seven of Jesse's sons passed before Samuel. But
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Speaker 1: in First Samuel sixteen ten we read Jesse had seven
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Speaker 1: of his sons passed before Samuel, but Samuel said to him,
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Speaker 1: the Lord has not chosen these. Then came the pivotal question,
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Speaker 1: are these all the sons you have? Jesse's response was
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Speaker 1: telling there is still the youngest, but he is tending
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Speaker 1: the sheep. David wasn't even invited to the ceremony. He
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Speaker 1: was out in the fields tending his father's sheep, considered
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Speaker 1: too young or insignificant to be part of such an
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Speaker 1: important moment. In First Samuel sixteen twelve, when David was
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Speaker 1: finally brought in, the text describes him as glowing with
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Speaker 1: health and having a fine appearance and handsome features, and
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Speaker 1: the Lord said, rise and anoint him. This is the one.
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Speaker 1: The anointing oil was poured over David's head that day,
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Speaker 1: but he did not immediately ascend to the throne. In
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Speaker 1: First Samuel sixteen nineteen we find David being called to
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Speaker 1: serve King Saul as a musician. Then Saul sent messengers
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Speaker 1: to Jesse and said, send me your son David, who
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Speaker 1: is with the sheep. Noticed that even after his anointing,
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Speaker 1: David continued his humble role as a shepherd. In Verse
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Speaker 1: Samuel seventeen, we see David alternating between serving in the
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Speaker 1: palace and tending his father's sheep. It was during one
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Speaker 1: of these periods that Goliath, the Philistine giant, challenged the
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Speaker 1: armies of Israel. When David arrived at the battlefield bringing
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Speaker 1: supplies to his older brothers, who were soldiers, he heard
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Speaker 1: the giant's challenge. The reaction of his eldest brother, Iliab
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Speaker 1: in First Samuel seventeen twenty eight reveals how David was
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Speaker 1: viewed by his own family. Why have you come down here,
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Speaker 1: and with whom did you leave those few sheep in
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Speaker 1: the wilderness. I know how conceited you are and how
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Speaker 1: wicked your heart is. Even as the lords anointed, David
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Speaker 1: faced scorn within his own household. When David volunteered to
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Speaker 1: face Goliath, King Saul doubted him, saying in First Samuel
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Speaker 1: seventeen thirty three, you are not able to go out
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Speaker 1: against this philistine and fight him. You are only a
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Speaker 1: young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.
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Speaker 1: But David's response showed how his humble experience as a
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Speaker 1: shepherd had prepared him. Your servant has been keeping his
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Speaker 1: father's sheep when a lion or a bear came and
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Speaker 1: carried off a sheep from the flock. I went after it,
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Speaker 1: struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. After
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Speaker 1: defeating Goliath, David rose to a position of leadership in
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Speaker 1: the army. In First Samuel eighteen, we see that he
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Speaker 1: succeeded in everything Saul asked him to do. The text
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Speaker 1: says all Israel and Judah loved David, but instead of
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Speaker 1: letting success inflate his ego, David remained humble. In First
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Speaker 1: Samuel eighteen twenty three, when offered the king's daughter in marriage,
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Speaker 1: he replied, who am I and what is my family
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Speaker 1: or my clan in Israel? That I should become the
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Speaker 1: King's son in law. Even when Saul, consumed by jealousy,
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Speaker 1: began to pursue him, David maintained his humility. In verse
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Speaker 1: Samuel twenty four, when he had the chance to kill
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Speaker 1: Saul in the cave of Engedi, he merely cut off
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Speaker 1: a corner of Saul's robe. His conscience even troubled him
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Speaker 1: for this minor act against the Lord's anointed. In verse
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Speaker 1: Samuel twenty four fourteen, David humbly said, against whom has
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Speaker 1: the King of Israel come out? Who were you pursuing
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Speaker 1: a dead dog a flea. Saul's persecution forced David to
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Speaker 1: live as a fugitive for years. The anointed king had
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Speaker 1: to hide in caves, live among the Philistines, and even
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Speaker 1: feign madness to escape death. In Firse Samuel twenty two
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Speaker 1: we read that all those who were in distress, or
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Speaker 1: in debt or discontented gathered around him. David became the
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Speaker 1: leader of a band of outcasts and misfits. In Second
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Speaker 1: Samuel seven, even after finally becoming king and establishing his kingdom,
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Speaker 1: David's humility shines in his prayer, Who am I, Sovereign Lord?
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Speaker 1: And what is my family? That you have brought me
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Speaker 1: this far? And as if this were not enough in
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Speaker 1: your sight, Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about the
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Speaker 1: future of the house of your servant. David never forgot
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Speaker 1: his humble beginnings. In Psalms seventy eight seventy two seventy two,
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Speaker 1: it is written he chose David his servant and took
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Speaker 1: him from the sheep pens, from tending the sheep. He
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Speaker 1: brought him to be the shepherd of his people. Jacob
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Speaker 1: of Israel his inheritance, and David shepherded them with integrity
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Speaker 1: of heart. With skillful hands, he led them. In Second
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Speaker 1: Samuel six, when the Ark of the Covenant was brought
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Speaker 1: to Jerusalem, we see David dancing with all his might
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Speaker 1: before the Lord, dressed in a linen ephod. When his
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Speaker 1: wife Michal scorned him for acting undignified, his response in
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Speaker 1: Second Samuel six twenty two revealed his unwavering humility. I
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Speaker 1: will become even more undignified than this, and I will
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Speaker 1: be humiliated in my own eyes. David's humility was tested
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Speaker 1: at every stage of his journey. As a shepherd, he
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Speaker 1: learned to care for the weakest sheep. As a musician
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Speaker 1: in the palace, he learned to serve the one occupying
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Speaker 1: the throne promised to him. As a warrior, he learned
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Speaker 1: to give glory to God for his victories. As a fugitive,
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Speaker 1: he learned to depend entirely on the Lord, and as king,
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Speaker 1: he saw himself as a servant of God's people. In
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Speaker 1: Psalm one thirty one, David captures the essence of this
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Speaker 1: lesson in humility. My heart is not proud, Lord, my
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Speaker 1: eyes are not haughty. I do not concern myself with
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Speaker 1: great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I
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Speaker 1: have calmed and quieted myself. I am like a weaned
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Speaker 1: child with its mother. Like a weaned child, I am content.
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Speaker 1: The fourth trial that God allows in the lives of
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Speaker 1: his chosen ones is that of adversity, and no one
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Speaker 1: in the Bible personifies this test better than Job. In
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Speaker 1: the first chapter of the book bearing his name, we
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Speaker 1: are introduced to a man whose life seemed perfect. In
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Speaker 1: Job one one we read there was a man in
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Speaker 1: the land of Us whose name was Job, and that
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Speaker 1: man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil.
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Speaker 1: The biblical text gives a detailed account of his prosperity.
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Speaker 1: In Job one two three, we find he had seven
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Speaker 1: sons and three daughters. His possessions were seven thousand sheep,
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Speaker 1: three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred
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Speaker 1: female donkeys, and a very large number of servants. And
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Speaker 1: that man was the greatest of all the men of
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Speaker 1: the east. His family life was exemplary. In Job one
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Speaker 1: four we see that his sons used to go and
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Speaker 1: hold a feast in the house of each one on
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Speaker 1: his day, and they would send word and invite their
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Speaker 1: three sisters to eat and drink with them. In his piety,
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Speaker 1: Job would even offer burnt offerings on behalf of his children,
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Speaker 1: thinking perhaps my sons have sinned and cursed God in
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Speaker 1: their hearts. Then in a single day everything changed. From
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Speaker 1: Job one thirteen onward, we see a devastating sequence of
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Speaker 1: messengers arriving, each with worse news than the last. The
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Speaker 1: first reported that the Sabians had attacked, taking his oxen
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Speaker 1: and donkeys and killing the servants. The second messenger told
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Speaker 1: of fire from heaven that consumed his sheep and shepherds.
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Speaker 1: The third brought news that the Chaldeans had raided, taking
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Speaker 1: his camels and killing more servants. But the worst news
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Speaker 1: came last. The final messenger reported that a mighty wind
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Speaker 1: had struck the house where his children were gathered, and
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Speaker 1: all of them died. In one day, Job lost his possessions,
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Speaker 1: his servants, and most painfully, his ten children. Job's response
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Speaker 1: in Job one twenty twenty one reveals his extraordinary faith.
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Speaker 1: Then Job arose, tore his robe, shaved his head, and
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Speaker 1: fell to the ground and worshiped. He said, naked, I
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Speaker 1: came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return there.
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Speaker 1: The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed
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Speaker 1: be the name of the Lord. But the trials did
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Speaker 1: not end there. In Job too, Satan was permitted to
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Speaker 1: afflict Job's body. So Satan went out from the presence
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Speaker 1: of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from
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Speaker 1: the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.
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Speaker 1: Job's condition was so terrible that he took a piece
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Speaker 1: of broken pottery to scrape himself while he was sitting
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Speaker 1: among the ashes. Even Job's wife, who had also lost everything,
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Speaker 1: could not understand his persistent faith. In Job two nine,
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Speaker 1: she questioned him, do you still hold firm to your integrity?
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Speaker 1: Curse God and die. Job's response demonstrated unwavering faith. You
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Speaker 1: speak as one of the foolish women's speaks. Shall we
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Speaker 1: indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity? Then
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Speaker 1: came Job's three friends, Eliphas, Bildad, and Zophi. In Job
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Speaker 1: two thirteen, we read that they sat down on the
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Speaker 1: ground with him for seven days and seven nights, with
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Speaker 1: no one speaking a word to him, for they saw
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Speaker 1: that his pain was very great. However, when they began
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Speaker 1: to speak, their words brought more pain than comfort. Eliphas
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Speaker 1: in Job four suggested that Job's suffering must be due
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Speaker 1: to hidden sin. Consider now, who, being innocent, has ever perished?
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Speaker 1: Where were the upright ever destroyed? Bildad in Job eight
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Speaker 1: implied that Job's children had died because of their own sins.
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Speaker 1: If your children have sinned against him, he gave them
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Speaker 1: over to the penalty of their sin so far. In
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Speaker 1: Job eleven went as far as to suggest that Job
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Speaker 1: was receiving less punishment than he deserved. Know this, God
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Speaker 1: has even forgotten some of your sin. The accusations continued
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Speaker 1: for many chapters, with each friend trying to convince Job
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Speaker 1: that his suffering was a result of wrong doing. Amid
23:26
Speaker 1: his physical and emotional pain, Job expressed his anguish with
23:30
Speaker 1: brutal honesty. In Job three, he cursed the day of
23:34
Speaker 1: his birth. In Job seven, he described his sleepless nights.
23:38
Speaker 1: When I lie down, I say, when shall I arise?
23:41
Speaker 1: But the night continues and I am continually tossing until dawn.
23:46
Speaker 1: Yet even in his deepest suffering, Job held on to
23:49
Speaker 1: his faith. In Job thirteen fifteen, he declared, though he
23:54
Speaker 1: slay me, I will hope in him. In Job nineteen
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Speaker 1: twenty five, he uttered one of the most profound declarations
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Speaker 1: of faith in the Bible. I know that my Redeemer lives,
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Speaker 1: and that in the end he will stand on the earth.
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Speaker 1: The adversities tested every aspect of Job's character. They tested
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Speaker 1: his faith. Would he continue trusting God when everything seemed lost?
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Speaker 1: They tested his integrity? Would he maintain his righteousness when
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Speaker 1: falsely accused? They tested his love for God? Would he
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Speaker 1: continue to worship even without understanding the reason for his suffering?
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Speaker 1: In Job twenty three, he expressed the frustration of not
24:34
Speaker 1: being able to find God in his suffering. If only
24:37
Speaker 1: I knew where to find him, If only I could
24:39
Speaker 1: go to his dwelling. If I go to the east,
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Speaker 1: he is not there. If I go to the west,
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Speaker 1: I do not find him. When he is at work
24:48
Speaker 1: in the north, I do not see him. When he
24:51
Speaker 1: turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him. Yet,
24:55
Speaker 1: in the same chapter, he affirmed, but he knows the
24:58
Speaker 1: way that I take. When he has tested me, I
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Speaker 1: will come forth as gold. Finally, in Job thirty eight,
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Speaker 1: God responded not with explanations, but by revealing his majesty
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Speaker 1: and sovereignty through a series of questions that highlighted the
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Speaker 1: limits of human understanding in the face of divine wisdom.
25:18
Speaker 1: Job's reply in Job forty two five is profound. My
25:24
Speaker 1: ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have
25:26
Speaker 1: seen you. At the end of the book, in Job
25:29
Speaker 1: forty two God restored Job, giving him twice as much
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Speaker 1: as he had before. He had seven more sons and
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Speaker 1: three more daughters, and he lived to see four generations
25:40
Speaker 1: of his descendants. The text concludes by saying, and so
25:44
Speaker 1: Job died an old man and full of years. Yet
25:50
Speaker 1: Job's true victory was not in material restoration. It was
25:54
Speaker 1: in his unwavering faith through the most extreme adversities. The
26:00
Speaker 1: if test Guard uses to shape the character of his
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Speaker 1: chosen ones is forgiveness, and no one exemplifies this journey
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Speaker 1: better than Joseph, the son of Jacob. In Genesis chapter
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Speaker 1: thirty seven, we are introduced to a seventeen year old
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Speaker 1: young man who unknowingly was about to embark on one
26:17
Speaker 1: of the most remarkable stories of forgiveness recorded in the Bible.
26:22
Speaker 1: The text reveals that Joseph was his father's favorite son.
26:27
Speaker 1: In Genesis thirty seven three, we read, now Israel loved
26:31
Speaker 1: Joseph more than any of his other sons because he
26:33
Speaker 1: had been born to him in his old age, and
26:36
Speaker 1: he made an ornate robe for him. This parental favoritism,
26:40
Speaker 1: combined with the dreams Joseph had and naively shared, stirred
26:45
Speaker 1: deep hatred in his brothers. In Genesis thirty seven four
26:49
Speaker 1: the text states plainly, when his brothers saw that their
26:53
Speaker 1: father loved him more than any of them, they hated
26:56
Speaker 1: him and could not speak a kind word to him.
26:59
Speaker 1: The situation worsened when Joseph shared his dreams, in which
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Speaker 1: his brothers and even his parents bowed before him. The
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Speaker 1: opportunity for revenge arose when Joseph was sent by his
27:10
Speaker 1: father to check on his brothers who were tending the flock.
27:15
Speaker 1: In Genesis thirty seven eighteen, we read, but they saw
27:19
Speaker 1: him in the distance, and before he reached them, they
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Speaker 1: plotted to kill him. Their hatred was so intense that
27:28
Speaker 1: they conspired to kill their own brother. Reuben the eldest
27:32
Speaker 1: tried to prevent the murder by suggesting they throw Joseph
27:35
Speaker 1: into a cistern instead, secretly planning to rescue him later. However,
27:40
Speaker 1: before he could carry out his plan, the other brothers
27:43
Speaker 1: saw a caravan of Ishmaelites passing by. Judah then proposed,
27:48
Speaker 1: what will we gain if we kill our brother and
27:51
Speaker 1: cover up his blood. Come, let's sell him to the Ishmaelites.
27:56
Speaker 1: In Genesis thirty seven twenty eight, Joseph's life changed forever.
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Speaker 1: So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled
28:04
Speaker 1: Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for
28:07
Speaker 1: twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him
28:10
Speaker 1: to Egypt. His own brothers sold him into slavery, plunging
28:15
Speaker 1: him into a spiral of suffering that would last for years.
28:19
Speaker 1: In Egypt, Joseph was sold to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh.
28:24
Speaker 1: In Genesis thirty nine, we learned that the Lord was
28:28
Speaker 1: with Joseph, and he prospered in his master's house. Yet
28:32
Speaker 1: even there in justice found him. Potiphar's wife, after failing
28:36
Speaker 1: to seduce Joseph, falsely accused him of attempted rape. In
28:40
Speaker 1: Genesis thirty nine, twenty Joseph was thrown into prison. Joseph's
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Speaker 1: master took him and put him in prison the place
28:48
Speaker 1: where the king's prisoners were confined Remarkably, there is no
28:52
Speaker 1: record of Joseph harboring resentment or bitterness. Even in prison,
28:56
Speaker 1: he maintained his integrity and character. Years passed. In Genesis
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Speaker 1: forty one, after interpreting Pharaoh's dreams about seven years of
29:06
Speaker 1: abundance followed by seven years of famine, Joseph was elevated
29:10
Speaker 1: to the position of governor of Egypt. At thirty years old,
29:14
Speaker 1: he became the second most powerful man in the most
29:17
Speaker 1: influential empire of the time. When famine struck Canaan, Joseph's
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Speaker 1: brothers came to Egypt seeking food in Genesis forty two,
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Speaker 1: Joseph recognized them immediately, but they did not recognize him.
29:31
Speaker 1: Now he had power, he could have easily taken revenge,
29:35
Speaker 1: ordering their execution or imprisoning them as he had been
29:39
Speaker 1: unjustly imprisoned. Instead, Joseph initiated a careful process to test
29:45
Speaker 1: his brother's character and prepare them for reconciliation. In Genesis
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Speaker 1: forty two, he accused them of being spies, kept Simeon
29:54
Speaker 1: as a hostage, and demanded they bring their youngest brother,
29:57
Speaker 1: Benjamin on their next visit, where when they returned with Benjamin,
30:01
Speaker 1: Joseph hosted a banquet for them. In Genesis forty three
30:05
Speaker 1: thirty we see the depth of his emotions. Deeply moved
30:10
Speaker 1: at the sight of his brother Benjamin, Joseph hurried out
30:14
Speaker 1: and looked for a place to weep. He went into
30:16
Speaker 1: his private room and wept there. The final test came
30:21
Speaker 1: when Joseph planted his silver cup in Benjamin's sack and
30:25
Speaker 1: threatened to keep him as a slave. In Genesis forty four, Judah,
30:29
Speaker 1: the very brother who had suggested selling Joseph years before,
30:33
Speaker 1: offered himself as a substitute for Benjamin. This demonstration of
30:38
Speaker 1: a transformed character profoundly moved Joseph. In Genesis forty five,
30:43
Speaker 1: Joseph could no longer hold back. Then Joseph could no
30:46
Speaker 1: longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out,
30:50
Speaker 1: have everyone leave my presence. So there was no one
30:54
Speaker 1: with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers.
30:58
Speaker 1: The moment of revelation was intensely emotional, and he wept
31:03
Speaker 1: so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh's household
31:07
Speaker 1: heard about it. Joseph's words revealed the depth of his forgiveness.
31:12
Speaker 1: In Genesis forty five five, he said, and now do
31:16
Speaker 1: not be distressed, and do not be angry with yourselves
31:19
Speaker 1: for selling me here, because it was to save lives
31:22
Speaker 1: that God sent me ahead of you. Joseph not only
31:25
Speaker 1: forgave them, but also recognized God's hand in the painful
31:28
Speaker 1: circumstances of his life. Years later, after Jacob's death, Joseph's
31:33
Speaker 1: brothers feared he might finally seek revenge. In Genesis fifty seventeen,
31:38
Speaker 1: they pleaded, I ask you to forgive your brothers the
31:42
Speaker 1: sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.
31:47
Speaker 1: Joseph's response showed that his forgiveness was genuine and enduring.
31:53
Speaker 1: In Genesis fifty nineteen to twenty one, we find one
31:56
Speaker 1: of the most beautiful expressions of forgiveness in the Bible.
32:00
Speaker 1: But Joseph said to them, don't be afraid, am I
32:03
Speaker 1: in the place of God. You intended to harm me,
32:06
Speaker 1: but God intended it for good to accomplish what is
32:09
Speaker 1: now being done, the saving of many lives. So then
32:13
Speaker 1: don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.
32:17
Speaker 1: And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. Joseph's
32:22
Speaker 1: forgiveness was not superficial. He didn't just say the right words.
32:26
Speaker 1: He demonstrated his forgiveness through concrete actions. He provided the
32:30
Speaker 1: best land in Egypt for his family, supported his brothers
32:34
Speaker 1: and their families, and treated his nephews as his own children.
32:38
Speaker 1: Joseph's story teaches us the true forgiveness goes beyond merely
32:42
Speaker 1: saying I forgive you. It involves recognizing God's hand even
32:47
Speaker 1: in the most painful circumstances, choosing to bless those who
32:50
Speaker 1: have hurt us, and using our position not for revenge,
32:54
Speaker 1: but to do good to those who wronged us. The
32:57
Speaker 1: sixth test God uses to prepare his chosen one is integrity,
33:01
Speaker 1: and no one demonstrates this virtue better than Daniel. In
33:05
Speaker 1: Daniel chapter one, we encounter a young man who taken
33:09
Speaker 1: from his homeland during the Babylonian captivity, faced challenges that
33:13
Speaker 1: tested his faithfulness to God in a culture utterly hostile
33:17
Speaker 1: to his values. Early in his journey in Babylon, Daniel
33:21
Speaker 1: faced his first test of integrity. In Daniel one five,
33:25
Speaker 1: we read that the king assigned them a daily portion
33:28
Speaker 1: of the King's delicacies and the wine that he drank. However,
33:32
Speaker 1: In Daniel one eight, we find a pivotal decision, but
33:36
Speaker 1: Daniel resolved in his heart that he would not defile
33:39
Speaker 1: himself with the king's food nor with the wine that
33:43
Speaker 1: he drank. This decision could have cost him not only
33:46
Speaker 1: his privileged position, but potentially his life. In Daniel one ten,
33:51
Speaker 1: the chief of the eunuchs expressed his fear. I fear,
33:55
Speaker 1: my lord, the king who has appointed your food and drink,
33:59
Speaker 1: for why should he see your faces looking worse than
34:02
Speaker 1: the young men who are your age. Daniel's proposed solution
34:07
Speaker 1: demonstrated both his integrity and his wisdom. In Daniel one twelve,
34:11
Speaker 1: he suggested, please test your servants for ten days, and
34:16
Speaker 1: let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink.
34:19
Speaker 1: The result was remarkable. After ten days, Daniel and his
34:23
Speaker 1: companions appeared healthier than all the other young men. In
34:26
Speaker 1: Daniel chapter two, his integrity was tested again when King
34:31
Speaker 1: nebucad Nezza demanded that his wise men not only interpret
34:35
Speaker 1: his dream, but first recount the dream itself. This was
34:39
Speaker 1: a humanly impossible task. While the other wise men confessed
34:44
Speaker 1: their inability, Daniel, instead of pretending or fleeing, sought God.
34:49
Speaker 1: In Daniel two nineteen, we read then the mystery was
34:52
Speaker 1: revealed to Daniel in a night vision. His first response
34:56
Speaker 1: was to praise God, showing that his integrity was rooted
35:00
Speaker 1: in his relationship with the Lord. When brought before the King,
35:04
Speaker 1: Daniel did not claim credit for himself. In Daniel two
35:08
Speaker 1: twenty eight, he declared there is a God in heaven
35:11
Speaker 1: who reveals mysteries years past, and Daniel's integrity continued to
35:17
Speaker 1: be tested. In Daniel chapter three, although the text does
35:20
Speaker 1: not mention Daniel's presence, his friends Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
35:25
Speaker 1: faced the fiery furnace for refusing to bow to a
35:29
Speaker 1: golden statue. They had learned from Daniel that integrity means
35:34
Speaker 1: remaining faithful to God even under the threat of death.
35:38
Speaker 1: In Daniel chapter five, we see an aged Daniel whose
35:42
Speaker 1: integrity was still unshaken. When summoned to interpret the writing
35:46
Speaker 1: on the wall during Belshazzar's feast, he refused the offered rewards.
35:52
Speaker 1: Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards
35:55
Speaker 1: to another. Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the
35:59
Speaker 1: King and make known to him the interpretation. But the
36:03
Speaker 1: greatest test of Daniel's integrity came during the reign of
36:06
Speaker 1: Darius the Mead. In Daniel six', four we read, then
36:10
Speaker 1: the presidents and satraps sought to find ground for complaint
36:14
Speaker 1: Against daniel concerning the, kingdom but they could find no
36:18
Speaker 1: ground for complaint or, fault because he was faithful and
36:22
Speaker 1: no error or fault was found in. Him frustrated by
36:26
Speaker 1: their inability to find any fault In, daniel his enemies
36:30
Speaker 1: devised a wicked. Plan they Convinced King darius to sign
36:34
Speaker 1: a decree prohibiting anyone from praying to Any god or
36:38
Speaker 1: man except The king for thirty. Days the punishment for
36:42
Speaker 1: disobedience was to be thrown into the lion's. Den daniel's
36:46
Speaker 1: response revealed the depth of his. Integrity In daniel six,'
36:51
Speaker 1: ten we, read Now when daniel knew that the writing,
36:55
Speaker 1: was signed he went home and in his, upper room
36:59
Speaker 1: with his windows Opened, toward jerusalem he knelt down on
37:02
Speaker 1: his knees three times that day and prayed and gave
37:06
Speaker 1: thanks Before, his god as was his custom since. Early
37:09
Speaker 1: days Notice that daniel did not alter his. Prayer routine
37:14
Speaker 1: he did not close, the windows seek a hidden place
37:17
Speaker 1: to pray or reduce the frequency of. His prayers his
37:21
Speaker 1: integrity would not allow him to pretend to, be different
37:24
Speaker 1: even under the threat of death when thrown into the.
37:28
Speaker 1: Lion's den daniel's integrity had Even Impressed. King Darius in daniel,
37:34
Speaker 1: six sixteen the king said, to Him, your god whom you,
37:38
Speaker 1: serve continually he will. Deliver you the, next Morning when
37:43
Speaker 1: daniel was, found unharmed he Declared in daniel six, twenty
37:47
Speaker 1: Two my god sent his angel and shut the, lion's
37:51
Speaker 1: mouths so that they have not, hurt ME because i
37:54
Speaker 1: was found innocent. Before him daniel's integrity was not merely
37:59
Speaker 1: a matter of outward. Beas Behavior in daniel nine we
38:02
Speaker 1: see his deep prayer life and intercession for. His People
38:05
Speaker 1: in daniel ten we glimpse his spiritual discipline as he
38:09
Speaker 1: spent three weeks in fasting and prayer seeking Understanding. From
38:13
Speaker 1: god even in his, Old age daniel maintained. His Integrity
38:18
Speaker 1: in daniel one twenty one we Read that daniel continued
38:21
Speaker 1: until the first Year Of. King cyrus he served faithfully
38:25
Speaker 1: under several kings, And, Empires, Nebucad, Nezar, belshazzar Darius, and
38:29
Speaker 1: cyrus without ever compromising his principles. Or Faith the Book
38:34
Speaker 1: of daniel shows us that true integrity is not just
38:38
Speaker 1: about doing the right thing when everyone. Is watching it
38:41
Speaker 1: is doing the right thing even when it could. Cost
38:44
Speaker 1: everything it means holding the same principles in public. And
38:48
Speaker 1: private it means staying Faithful to god even when the
38:52
Speaker 1: surrounding culture pressures us. To compromise daniel demonstrated integrity in
38:58
Speaker 1: both small and, significant decisions from choosing his food at
39:03
Speaker 1: the beginning of his Life in babylon to continuing to
39:06
Speaker 1: pray despite the threat. Of death he showed that integrity
39:11
Speaker 1: is a daily choice that must be maintained consistently. Over
39:15
Speaker 1: time the seventh and Final test god uses to prepare
39:19
Speaker 1: his chosen ones is that of, total surrender and few
39:23
Speaker 1: biblical figures demonstrate this as radically as The. Prophet Hoseiah
39:28
Speaker 1: in hosea, chapter one we encounter a man who received
39:31
Speaker 1: one of the most surprising and challenging commands ever recorded.
39:36
Speaker 1: In scripture the text begins with a shocking Directive in hoseiah,
39:41
Speaker 1: one two When the lord began to Speak. Through Hosea
39:44
Speaker 1: the lord said, to him go marry a promiscuous woman
39:48
Speaker 1: and have children. With her for like an, adulterous wife
39:52
Speaker 1: this land is guilty of unfaithfulness To. The lord this
39:56
Speaker 1: divine command must have deeply shaken. The prophet notice that
40:01
Speaker 1: it wasn't just a command to marry, any woman but specifically.
40:05
Speaker 1: A prostitute in the society where family honor was highly
40:09
Speaker 1: valued and adultery punishable, By death god was asking his
40:13
Speaker 1: prophet to marry a woman of. Disreputable character it was
40:18
Speaker 1: a request that went against all social and religious norms of.
40:22
Speaker 1: The Time in hoseiah one three we see the. Prophet's
40:26
Speaker 1: response so He, married gomer Daughter, of diblem and she
40:30
Speaker 1: conceived and bore him. A son there is no record, of,
40:34
Speaker 1: hesitation questioning or attempting to Negotiate. With god joseiah's obedience
40:39
Speaker 1: was immediate. And complete the text even mentions the, Woman's,
40:43
Speaker 1: name gomer making the story all the more real. And
40:46
Speaker 1: personal hoseiah's Marriage to gomer was meant to be a
40:51
Speaker 1: living representation of the Relationship between God. And Israel in hoseiah,
40:56
Speaker 1: two five we Read about. Gomer's infidelity their mother has
41:01
Speaker 1: been unfaithful and has conceived them. In disgrace, SHE said
41:06
Speaker 1: i will go after my lovers who give me my
41:09
Speaker 1: food and, my water my wool and, my linen my,
41:13
Speaker 1: olive oil and. My drink even after marriage and having Children,
41:17
Speaker 1: With hoseia gomer continued her life. Of prostitution hoseiah's suffering
41:24
Speaker 1: must have. Been immense it wasn't just the pain of,
41:27
Speaker 1: marital betrayal but also the public shame of being known
41:31
Speaker 1: as the prophet who married a prostitute who. Remained Unfaithful
41:36
Speaker 1: in hoseiah, three one we encounter an even more. Surprising
41:40
Speaker 1: Command the lord said, to me go show your love
41:45
Speaker 1: to your. Wife again though she is loved by another
41:48
Speaker 1: man and is. An adulteress love her As the lord Loves,
41:52
Speaker 1: the israelites though they turn to other gods and love
41:55
Speaker 1: the sacred. Raisin cakes god Was asking hosea To seek
42:00
Speaker 1: gomer again despite all. Her infidelities the following verse reveals
42:06
Speaker 1: the depths To which gomer. Had Fallen in hoseiah, three two,
42:10
Speaker 1: we READ so i bought her for fifteen shekels of
42:13
Speaker 1: silver and about a homer and a lethic. Of balley
42:17
Speaker 1: gomer had sunk so low that she had become, a
42:19
Speaker 1: Slave and hoseiah had to pay to. Redeem her this
42:23
Speaker 1: story transcends the personal Drama of Hosea. And Gomer in hoseiah,
42:28
Speaker 1: three one the text explicitly explains love her As the
42:32
Speaker 1: lord Loves. The israelites hoseiah's marriage was a living Parable
42:37
Speaker 1: of god's love for his. Unfaithful people every act of
42:41
Speaker 1: forgiveness and Restoration by Hoseiah mirrored god's Heart. For israel
42:46
Speaker 1: the entire prophetic Ministry of hoseiah was marked by this.
42:49
Speaker 1: Personal Experience in hoseiah, eleven eight We hear god's broken
42:53
Speaker 1: heart through the, prophet's words HOW can i give You?
42:56
Speaker 1: Up ephraim HOW can i hand You? Over israel HOW
42:59
Speaker 1: can i treat you Like admir HOW can i make
43:02
Speaker 1: You Like? Zebu yim my heart is changed, within me
43:05
Speaker 1: all my compassion. Is aroused The message god wanted to
43:09
Speaker 1: Convey through joseiah's life. Was powerful just as the prophet
43:13
Speaker 1: loved and pursued his, Unfaithful wife god continues to love
43:17
Speaker 1: and pursue his people despite their. Repeated Infidelities in hoseiah two,
43:22
Speaker 1: nineteen twenty we find, THIS promise i will betrothe you to.
43:26
Speaker 1: ME forever i will betrothe you in righteousness, and justice
43:31
Speaker 1: in love. AND compassion i will betrothe you, in faithfulness
43:35
Speaker 1: and you will Acknowledge. The lord hoseiah's total surrender went
43:40
Speaker 1: beyond merely obeying a. Divine command he had to surrender, his,
43:45
Speaker 1: heart reputation. And dignity he had to love when love,
43:49
Speaker 1: seemed impossible forgive when forgiveness, seemed unreasonable and restore when restoration.
43:55
Speaker 1: Seemed Unattainable in jseiah fourteen four We find godd's promise.
44:00
Speaker 1: OF restoration i will heal their waywardness and love, them
44:04
Speaker 1: freely for my anger has turned away. From Them through hoseiah's,
44:09
Speaker 1: Radical obedience god demonstrated his unconditional love and willingness to restore,
44:14
Speaker 1: his people no matter how far they. Had Strayed the
44:18
Speaker 1: Book of hoseiah ends on a note. Of Hope in
44:21
Speaker 1: hoseiah fourteen five, to seven WE read i will be
44:25
Speaker 1: like the Dew. To israel he will blossom like, a
44:28
Speaker 1: lily like a Cedar. Of lebanon he will send down.
44:31
Speaker 1: His roots his young shoots. Will grow his splendor will
44:35
Speaker 1: be like an, olive tree his fragrance like a Cedar.
44:39
Speaker 1: Of lebanon people will dwell again in. His shade they.
44:42
Speaker 1: Will flourish like, The grain they will blossom like. The
44:46
Speaker 1: vine israel's fame will be like the Wine. Of lebanon
44:50
Speaker 1: hoseah's story teaches us that total Surrender to god may
44:54
Speaker 1: require sacrifices that seem beyond. Our capacity it may mean
44:59
Speaker 1: giving up not just our possessions, or comfort but even
45:02
Speaker 1: our dignity. And reputation it means being willing to, be,
45:06
Speaker 1: misunderstood ridiculed and rejected if necessary To fulfill. God's purposes
45:13
Speaker 1: you've just learned about the Seven tests god uses to
45:17
Speaker 1: prepare those he wants to. Use powerfully now let me
45:20
Speaker 1: ask you which of these tests are you going? Through
45:23
Speaker 1: today could it Be that god is leading you into
45:27
Speaker 1: the wilderness for a time of, deep intimacy or perhaps
45:30
Speaker 1: you find yourself in the valley of humility learning precious lessons.
45:34
Speaker 1: About service maybe you're facing adversities like job or being
45:39
Speaker 1: challenged to Forgive. Like joseph no matter which test you're experiencing,
45:44
Speaker 1: right now, Remember this god doesn't waste. Any suffering, every test,
45:49
Speaker 1: every challenge every difficult moment has a divine purpose in.
45:53
Speaker 1: Your life you are not, Being punished you are. Being
45:56
Speaker 1: prepared if this video touched, your Heart if if you
46:00
Speaker 1: identified with any of, these stories share it with someone
46:03
Speaker 1: who might also be going through a time. Of testing
46:07
Speaker 1: sometimes all a person needs is to know they're not
46:11
Speaker 1: alone on. Their journey would you like to keep Learning
46:14
Speaker 1: about god's ways And how he works in. Our lives
46:17
Speaker 1: subscribe to, the channel turn on the, notification bell and
46:21
Speaker 1: comment below which of these tests resonated most with. Your
46:25
Speaker 1: heart your testimony might be exactly what someone else needs
46:29
Speaker 1: to hear. To day see you in the. Next Video
46:32
Speaker 1: may god continue to shape and prepare you for his.
46:35
Speaker 1: Eternal purposes