BUMPS
…by Olayinka Orogun
‘These trials will show that your faith is
genuine…’
1 Peter 1:7
It is impossible to tell by looking at a person how
much faith they have.
Compare your faith to a
bucket of water; you only discover how much is
inside when somebody bumps it. Likewise, when
life bumps you, you spill out what you are full of.
Maybe you took a financial hit in the last few
years:
bump! What spilled out, fear or faith?
Maybe you, or a loved one, received bad news
from the doctor and you’re going for tests:
bump!
What splashed over the side?
Dreading the worst
or trusting God for the best? People can’t tell by
looking at you how much faith you have, but they
can tell by listening to you. In life,
bumps are going to happen. You will be tested.
And the purpose of the test is not just to reveal your faith,
but to refine it.
God doesn’t test your faith in
order to know how much you have, He already
knows.
No, He tests your faith so that you can
know—and start strengthening it.
Stop and
consider the hardest thing that’s going on in your
life right now, then ask yourself, ‘Is this situation
decreasing my faith or increasing it?’
The Bible
says: ‘These trials will show that your faith is
genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and
purifies gold—though your faith is far more
precious than mere gold.
So when your faith
remains strong through many trials, it will bring
you much praise and glory and honour on the
day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole
world.’ (1 Peter 1:7 NLT)