Why Does God Test Us: 4 Life-Changing Reasons

I don’t like them and maybe you don’t either. Tests. In our last article, we answered the question, Does God Test Us. We reviewed 5 biblical examples of God testing us and learned we should ask for His testing. In this article, we will discuss 4 life-changing reasons to answer the question, why does God test us? Those 4 reasons are to develop the following within us:

• Trust (in Him)
• Patience (with others)
• Perseverance (in difficulties)
• Hope (through Him, we will overcome)

Testing develops our character, as Charles (CH) Spurgeon said:

Trials teach us what we are; they dig up the soil, and let us see what we are made of.

Let’s look at these 4 reasons in finer detail.

Trust

Since God is omniscient (all-knowing), His testing is not to prove our faith to Him, for He already knows, but to ourselves. This testing produces trust and enables us to identify as His children, sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, as Paul said in Ephesians 1:13-14:

In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

Trust is an early indicator of a budding relationship, and the same is true in our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Building trust is one reason to answer the question: why does God test us, as trusting God through the storm is a life-changing character builder.

Patience

The testing of our faith produces fruit, as James says in James 1:2-3:

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

Patience, also called long-suffering in the Bible, is an aspect of love, as Paul illustrates in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7:

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Patience is a fruit of the spirit, as Paul shares in Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT):

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Another answer to the question of why does God test us is to produce patience. Building upon trust, patience produces love and further refines our character.

Perseverance

Paul explains in 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 that through the difficulties we experience, God is there to comfort us. Persevering through adversity produces the character needed to help others who go through similar experiences:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. 

Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.

The trials and testing we undergo will produce in us the ability to comfort others who are going through similar experiences. This life-changing reason continues to mold us into who God wants us to become.

Hope

Paul also discusses tribulations producing hope in Romans 5:3-5:

And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Keeping our eyes on Christ through life’s storms grows our dependence and hope upon Him.

God allows all of life’s struggles. Some He dispenses upon us and some we self-inflict.

Why Does God Test Us?

God tests us to produce within us:

• Trust (in Him)
• Patience (with others)
• Perseverance (in difficulties)
• Hope (through Him, we will overcome)

In any relationship, we need to develop the aforementioned attributes. God will place us in circumstances to either trust in our ways or to trust in His. Look over your life and see if you are trusting in yourself or trusting in God. If you are lacking in one or more of these areas, then get ready, because God is about to test you. Then you will grow in your relationship and faith in the Lord.

In answering the question, why does God test us, A. W. Tozer puts it this way:

It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until he has hurt him deeply. God actually rises up storms of conflict in relationships at times in order to accomplish that deeper work in our character. We cannot love our enemies in our own strength. This is graduate-level grace. Are you willing to enter this school? Are you willing to take the test? If you pass, you can expect to be elevated to a new level in the Kingdom. For He brings us through these tests as preparation for greater use in the Kingdom. You must pass the test first.

The apostle Peter expresses in 1 Peter 1:6-9 (ESV):

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

So why does God test us? You are the work of God, and He is refining you until you receive the outcome of your faith, your soul’s salvation. This is why God tests us.