Reading: Psalm 66
For the director of music. A song. A psalm.
Shout for joy to God, all the earth!
Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious.
Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you.
All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you,
they sing the praises of your name.”
Come and see what God has done,
his awesome deeds for mankind!
He turned the sea into dry land,
they passed through the waters on foot—
come, let us rejoice in him.
He rules forever by his power,
his eyes watch the nations—
let not the rebellious rise up against him.
Praise our God, all peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard;
he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping.
For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver.
You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs.
You let people ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water,
but you brought us to a place of abundance (NIV).
Reflection
I can’t answer for you, but I for one did not enjoy writing tests at school. It’s not that I did poorly on tests, the exception being high school math. But let’s not go there. I haven’t for the last forty years and have suffered no ill effects.
Gatineau Park, QC –Photo by David Kitz
Simply put tests are stressful. No matter how well you know the material, you can’t be sure of the outcome. Will there be a trick question? Will you experience a momentary brain burp? Have you studied the right subject matter?
Despite my aversion to tests and major exams as a student, I quite enjoyed administering them after I became a teacher. They provided so much information. They let me see into a student’s head and heart. Was learning happening behind those big brown eyes or were they only going through the motions?
But why would God test us, since He already knows the outcome? For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver.
God tests us to bring out the very best in us. In the furnace of affliction He removes the dross from our lives so His glory can shine through. Only then can we properly reflect His glory.
Response: LORD God, help me appreciate the tests you bring into my life. I praise you in advance because you are working to perfect me through the hardships I face. Amen.
Your Turn: Has the Lord brought you near to Him in difficult times?
I love the Psalms 
Reblogged this on Talmidimblogging.
Yes indeed. I recall a difficult and frightening time in my life. and how I prayed for God to resolve it my way! But he had other plans. Even though it was not resolved the way I had hoped, my faith and trust in Him was unshakable. and drew me closer to Him.
Amen Mary! God richly bless you and yours!
Yes, thanks Mary. God’s testing brings about change for the better in our spirit.
I think we often overlook the fact that ‘tests’ must be repeated when we continuously fail them.
Many times people/we keep going through the same things because we’ve failed to see them for what they are (obstacles to overcome in order to keep moving forward/the removal of impurities in our perfecting process), so we fail to master the same tests presented to us in even slightly different ways, hence the inability to move forward (yet looking at it in a purely natural way, we cry out -“why does this keep happening to me”).