Divine Destiny - Part Six

The word P I T stands for “prophets in training”.

This is evidenced with all of the great men and women of the Old Testament. You can see this in their biographies.

They seem to get this awesome word from God to go and do something miraculous, only to have to first face a great difficulty.

This is no different for us. We get this calling to step out in faith, and we naturally think everything will be great because God is in control of what we are doing. Our thinking is that those nearest and dearest to us are going to be excited for us. We find out that is not the case.

Jesus found this to be the case with those who were close to Him while He was growing up in Nazareth.

Micah 7:6

“…a man’s enemies are the men of his own household.”

Why is all of this important to us?

So that we will know that it is God Who has called us and not man. Oftentimes, this test of rejection is what breaks the ties of our dependence on the approval of men.

3. Test of Forgiveness – This is the test that can prove to be the toughest of them all. If you have any area in your life where you are most likely to fail, it is in this test from God.

You will have to (at some point) decide if you are going to forgive those who have hurt you, or are you going to live your life in bitterness.

Anything you feel is the calling in your life will cause someone to come against you and what you stand for. When you decide to do things that are holy and righteous, you eventually will draw criticism from someone.

What will you do when that happens to you? Will you give up on what you know to be important?

There are 3 things that are critical to remember when you are faced with having to forgive someone:

a) The Bible tells us that if we decide not to forgive God will not for give you.

b) The devil can build a stronghold

c) The root of bitterness can come into our lives and defile our relationship with the Lord and those nearest to us.

4. Test of Stewardship – Luke 16:10 thru 12 tells us that we will not be given blessings in the supernatural until we are faithful in the natural and more simpler/smaller things.

God will always put you into situations that will challenge this test in your life. God will watch us closely in the way we deal with others and what is dear to them.

Oral Roberts has told the story of how he prayed for and laid hands on over 500 people before he saw his bona fide healing.

5. Tests of Discipline – This would mean enduring pain and suffering in cult type religions, i.e., Hinduism and Islam. What it means for us is consistent living and commitment to prayer, fasting and studying the Word of God. Not necessarily an easy task.

God will place you in situations that will demand longer hours to serve the Lord in what ever free time you may or may not have.

There is the discipline of our mouth as described in James 3. Bridling our tongues. Being careful what we say and how we say things that are pleasing to the Lord.

6.Tests of Hard Work – The example we should consider is the labor of giving birth to a baby. We could kid ourselves and try and convince the woman pregnant with her first child that the birth won’t be that difficult. But we would be lying.