Genesis 22:1 (NKJV)

“Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’”

The heading of this section in my Bible reads, “Abraham’s Faith Confirmed.” God knew Abraham had faith but it needed to be confirmed and the only way to prove faith is through testing. What I say I believe, is only true if I can survive an examination of that belief. Every conviction I have must go through the furnace of testing. Testing is not meant to destroy but to strengthen faith. Testing will never happen unless God already knows you have the grace to overcome. Testing is the preparation for the next phase of blessing and ministry.

When God called Abraham, He did not say to him, “I am calling you to test you.” What God did rather, was to give him an instruction and watch his response. When God puts us through the fire of testing, He will not tell us that it’s a test; we must only choose to obey and follow, even when we don’t understand, trusting that our faith in Him will not suffer shame.

Trust God and answer the call to testing.

“Father, this is hard, but I trust You. I know that when You choose to bring me into this season of testing, You will also give me the grace to go through it. Oh Lord, may my faith be confirmed through the call of testing. Amen.”