Testing

“But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.” (Job 23:10)

Years ago, I was in a singing group and one of the songs we sang was, “I’m Yours Lord” by the Gaither Vocal Band. The chorus went like this: “I’m yours Lord. Everything I’ve got, everything I am, everything I’m not. I’m yours Lord. Try me now and see, see if I can be completely yours.” Recently, I remembered this song and it made me think of our commitment as a Christian. We can say, “I’m yours Lord.”,  but what does that mean?

Let’s think of this in a practical way. Say you’ve come out for a sports team and you want to be on the first team. Are you willing to do all that the coach requires of you, to go through the drills and training even though it will be very hard? And on the day before the first game, will you say, “Coach, try me now and see, see if I can be first team material.” Or, let’s say you are at work and there’s a position opened up that you want. You want to be promoted so you tell the boss, “Look at my past performance and test me to see if I can be the best for the job.” It’s sad that some athletes and employees would just be satisfied to not go through the hard testing and just stay where they are. What about us Christians?

Imagine we come to the Lord and say the things that are mentioned in the song: “Here I am Lord; I submit to You. I give You everything I now have, everything  I am now and everything I’m not so You can make me into what You’ve got planned for me.” Take me Lord and try me out to see if I can be completely Yours, all of You and none of me.” “…make me willing to obey You.” (Psalm 51:12). If we’re really willing to give ourselves wholly to God, He’s going to accept us, train us and test us in order that we can go, “from glory to glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Are we willing to do that?

We can say, “I offer my body a living sacrifice, wholly and acceptable which is my reasonable act of worship.” (Romans 12:1). “Here I am Lord, send me. How can I serve You today?” “Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and my mind.” (Psalm 26:2). Are we willing to go all the way with God? Or are we satisfied with just being on the team? God has a plan for each of us but we have to be willing to accept it and be tested. Let’s go! “knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” (James 1:3 NASB).