Sometimes I wonder, if you’ve never been tested, are you really strong? If, as a person of faith, you’ve never been tempted, then are you really as grounded and firm as you think you are? If you’ve never written an exam or had to prove your mettle, then are you really smart? These are the thoughts that can cross my mind from time to time, and then I wonder…
A lot of things look easy when we imagine them in our heads. Sometimes, they look really easy, and other times, they look really difficult. But we only know for sure what we are capable of when we actually try to do these things.
You can think that swimming is no big deal until you find yourself on a boat in the middle of the ocean, then you’ll hang on for dear life, wishing you had learned how to swim. You think that driving is hard, and you procrastinate it for as long as possible. But when you finally start learning, you master it so easily, you wonder what you were so scared of to begin with.
This is one of the reasons why we need tests and challenges as humans, and we also don’t have to expect them because that’s the only way we’re ever truly prepared, by preparing for the unexpected. Challenges put everything you’ve learned to the test, forcing you to rely on past experiences and lessons and apply them to the things you’re doing today. This is because without tests, we only assume that we are good. But we don’t know for sure.
And in the same vein, this is the same reason many people are cautioned against making declarations about people whom they don’t know how things are. Until you’ve worked a mile in their shoes, keep your mouth shut! It’s so easy to talk about the things you will do in a certain situation, and how you will act, and the way you will be different. However, the truth is, you will never know for sure until you are in that situation. You won’t know how strong you are until you’re met with the test that will test your faith.
Sometimes, we welcome challenges because they help us grow and become stronger individuals. But then, other times, we need to pray against the kind of challenges and temptations that will change who we are, the ones that we may never be able to resist, and the ones that we will most likely succumb to. I always say that everyone has a price, but it will be foolish to assume that every price is paid in cash. Just hope that you’re never offered a price that you can’t refuse, because then, you’ll know what it really means to be tested.
When you fail that big test, does that mean you’re weak?
That is a good question.
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