Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers,and blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord.

Proverbs 16:20

Have you ever been tested by God? No, I’m sure you haven’t.  I mean, what Christians have ever been tested?  We certainly don’t read about anyone ever being tested or pushed in any direction in the Old or New Testament, do we?  Of course, I’m being sarcastic. <smile>  As Christians, we get tested all of the time. Some tests are small and some are large.

Have you ever noticed that those who go through the big tests are the ones who get noticed? I mean, we don’t read stories in the Bible about John lying by calling into work sick when he actually feels just fine.  Instead, we read stories about great men like Paul passing huge tests of being imprisoned for his faith.  We read stories about David, the man after God’s own heart, being tested when he wrongfully falls for Bathsheba.  Despite whether they passed or failed each test, we learn something from each of them, and we see God work in their lives.

The passage above reminds us of two things:

1. If we listen to Godly instruction, we will thrive.

2. If we trust in God, we will be blessed.

Those may seem like small “ifs,” but they are actually very large concepts to work on.  As an example, has someone ever given you wisdom and you simply replied with, “They don’t know what they are talking about!”  Or, you thought all was lost and that God had left you, but when the situation was over, you were still around, and (as always), so was God.

I don’t know about you, but in the tough times, I depend on my family and close friends to remind me that “this too shall pass” in addition to providing me Godly wisdom and encouragement along the way.  It can be difficult to trust God in the hard times.  On the converse, it can be hard to remember to trust God in the good times.  I believe it is one of the reasons that God gives us hardship.  It will build our faith, and when we come out on the other side, we are stronger and wiser.

We can learn so much from other Christians if we will just listen to their Godly instruction.  One of my best friends is a singer/songwriter, and she has a song with the following lyric:

“Oh fighter, don’t you fall down. You’re gonna make it another round.”

There are days that I am glad I can put her on repeat. <smile> It reminds me that God is in our corner, that we must trust God in everything we do, and that when we think the fight is over or has become impossible, we will make it another round because of our trust in God.

Whether you had a great week or a tough week, did you take the time this week to stop, listen to Godly instruction, and trust God in everything you did?  Did I?