God’s words are given for our encouragement and confirming His love for us. Let us read from 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?” We need to examine ourselves to see if our faith is genuine. If you can’t tell that Jesus Christ is among you, then you can’t pass the test. Jesus was crucified because of His weakness but lives with the power of God. It is this power that we need to live a victorious life. Let us examine ourselves to see if this Jesus, who lives with the power of God, is within us also. In His weakness, because of loud cries and supplications, Jesus’ prayer was heard. In our weakness we can be strong in the Lord. In James 1:2-4 we read, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” Through the testing of our faith, we can reach a perfect and complete state.
Let us look into the life of Job. Job was an upright man for whom God could vouch boldly to Satan. In Job 1 we read that Job was blameless, upright, feared God and turned away from evil. In the first verses of chapter 1 we read how Job was careful even to consider sins in the heart. God had 3 hedges of protection around Job. We know how God gave Satan permission to test Job. We know how much destruction was brought into Job’s life. But in Job 1:22 we read, “Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God”. What an amazing testimony! Job says in verse 21, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” One can say these words only if they have made God the complete Lord and master of their life! Let us examine ourselves. In chapter 2 we read how God testifies that Job is a man of integrity. Satan asks God for permission to further test Job and he brought illness upon Job. But even in that time of pain and distress Job doesn’t sin with his lips. (Chapter 2:10). He doesn’t fall into the temptation of complaining against God even when his wife complained. Job’s friends also came and blamed Job for all the problems that had come in his life. But in spite of all this we read in chapter 27:5,6, “Far be it from me that I should declare you right; Till I die I will not put away my integrity from me. I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go. My heart does not reproach any of my days.” Job was in boils from head to toe, but he never sinned against God. In Chapter 29 we read of the life that Job lived. In chapter 30 we read how slowly the attitude of grumbling came into Job’s life. He said that in spite of all that he had done, there was still problems in his life. Job lived with self-righteousness. God explains his mightiness to Job. In Job 40 we see how Job reaches a humble state and says, “Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to You? I lay my hand on my mouth.” Job realized that all his good deeds were filthy rags in front of God. In Job 42 we read that Job says, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You”. Through his times of testing, Job clearly understood God, His love for Job and God’s sovereignty. And Job repented.
In Paul’s life also there was a thorn in his flesh. But in this weakness, Paul experienced that grace of God. God doesn’t allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear. We may be weak, we may be battling sicknesses but in our weakness, God’s power will be perfected. In Luke 22 we see how Jesus was praying to the Father in the garden of Gethsemane, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” We see the weakness of Jesus here. But immediately an angel appeared to Him and strengthened Him. Jesus cried with loud cries but he was heard because of His piety. Jesus learned obedience through his sufferings. This is the crucified Christ. Is the crucified Christ in you? You need to examine yourselves.
In Philippians 2:6-8 we read, “who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Our flesh doesn’t like to be humble. But we see the example that Jesus has been before us by being humble even to the point of death. Let us examine ourselves to see if this attitude of Jesus is in us. In 1 Peter 2:1 we read, “Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin”. There is a suffering in the flesh – Jesus went through it and we also need to go through it. If we don’t sin, there is a going to be a suffering in the flesh. Let us we test ourselves to see if the crucified Christ in in us, so that we too can be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
