God’s tests?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear XY,

I think I understand how you feel about the tests – challenges – that life sets us. At times, most of us have felt that they are too difficult. That has prompted them to wonder why God sets such difficult tests.

I have not personally experienced some of the traumatic events that others have faced.  Yet through my experience as a Christian, I have come to the understanding that it is not God who is setting the tests. The tests came into being when man opted not to follow God’s plan. This created the environment in which all of us are caught up in the battle between good and evil and many “innocent” bystanders become casualties.

What I have found out through study, observation and personal experience is that while God does not set the tests, He provides the answers. Since the tests are not about avoiding crises, the answers do not tell us how to avoid them. Instead, the answers guide us as to how to deal with them.

Are believers sheltered from pain?

No, but they have access to a pain release valve that makes coping easier.