“In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.” 2 Corinthians 8:2
“O.K. class… put your books away!” meant only 1 thing… ‘pop quiz!’ When I was a kid in school, I HATED pop quizzes! Unannounced tests of how well I had been ‘paying attention’ in class were unwelcome because I usually hadn’t been! This would be proof! As both a student and teacher of God’s Word, I have learned that God LOVES to give pop quizzes! I received one last night!
Checking out of the cold grocery store proved to be a test, as the little ol lady in front of us moved slowly and chatted to the cashier about things in general. I was surprised to see cases of coke and a big turkey because they looked much too heavy for her to be lugging. That’s when I heard the call of The Master! Taking mental note, we finally got through. I found her standing beside her car, right next to mine.
At my age and in my vocation, tests don’t bother me as much as they used to. I learned to expect them… DAILY! “Excuse me ma’am, but may I help you load those things?” It wasn’t a big deal for me and KNEW it was a pop quiz when I heard her reply, “Oh God bless you!” Smiling at the verification that this was indeed a God quiz, I replied, “Oh He does ma’am!” He does!”
God’s pop quizzes have become a welcome sight to me. Receiving an ‘A’ on a test that involves time or money is not really a problem. God ‘tested’ those out of me long ago. But the hardest tests I face now deal with ATTITUDE! Admittedly, I carry a ‘C- average’ for those, and have for some time. It’s proof that Jesus owns ‘all my STUFF,’ but that ‘all my heart’ area needs work!
“Needs improvement’ after a test doesn’t discourage me because I KNOW that He loves me. If He didn’t He wouldn’t bother with the testing in the first place. Holding onto lessons learned the hard way gives me reason to keep learning, since living in blessing is MUCH more fun than living in fear or doubt. Right now Jesus and I seem to have a different opinion on the definition of ‘FUN!’
When the store lady over-praised me for helping I got embarrassed. “I am a pastor,” I said, crediting God. “Do YOU go to Church anywhere?” Having passed MY test, I inwardly smiled that the tables had turned. Now it was HER time for a quiz! Under conviction, I watched HER squirm to the negative, then invited her to MY church remembering, it’s GOD’s job to grade the quiz!
In what areas of life is God testing YOU? How are you doing in your studies? What grade would you give yourself? What grade would HE give you? Are you generously and joyfully learning? Are you growing in the hard areas? Because He loves you and wants a witness, the tests will keep coming!
