Tried him? And that means? Our God always is seeking to teach us the way of faith; and you guessed how… through many areas and stages of learning. “Trying” of faith, the discipline of faith, the patience of faith, and the courage of faith are areas and stages we pass through before the victory in our situation comes.
Our character is what develops by enduring the discipline of faith. Do you find that you have requests and prayers that seem to be unanswered by God? Don’t give up or give in! Don’t be swayed by what you see in front of you-even if it contradicts God’s Words or promises. By not being persuaded or influenced by the very thing that’s screaming out all sort of opposition to God’s Word, is when faith grows and is made stronger. The great heroes of faith mentioned in the 11th chapter of Hebrews didn’t start out great. They were trained by the discipline of faith.
As an example, let’s look at Joseph. Psalm 105 says, “the Word of God tried him.” Poor Joseph was in adversity up to his neck…
[ba-pullquote align=”left”] Prison didn’t try him. He was “tried” by God’s Word![/ba-pullquote]
The words God spoke into his heart in his earlier years, concerning his elevated place of honor above his brothers, were the words that were always before him. It had to have been so hard for him to endure prison life, especially knowing that he did nothing wrong to put him there in the first place. He was innocent. Yet he held onto God’s Words, despite all the chaos and disarray of what looked like an impossible situation. And all the while, God was training him for the throne of Egypt. These were times that tried his soul. They were also times that resulted in increased faith and spiritual toughness.
When you’re tried like this, a certain sweetness comes with love and patience surpassed only by God Himself. I don’t think anything else can try a person as much as this-situations where you’re required to wait on God. It’s so hard to see day after day go by without seeing deliverance. But it’s in this time we get a true knowledge of God.