The night before state assessments we got clear instructions.
1. Make sure iPad is fully charged. 2. Don't forget to bring iPad to school. 3. Don't forget headphones.
The morning of, we were on our game. Check, check, check. IPad, fully charged, in backpack. Headphones In place.
My kid had one question "what kid of test do you think the iPad will have today?" He had no idea HE was the one being tested.
His precious innocence got me thinking about testing. I wonder if adults get confused sometimes, too. It's easy to think our suffering is some kind of test.
What a rude, unfair test that would be!
There has been no instruction. There seems to be information that some divine being has, but won't tell you, but it is your job to "find the lesson" in your hardship. Your life is held captive in suffering until you can identify "what I'm supposed to be learning".
God is not that crotchety teacher who is trying to trick you, sitting behind a desk, waiting for you to mess up. God does not dole out life circumstances in order to test your faith or see how strong you are.
Here's how Paul explained it ... When you are tempted, God will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. 1 Cor 10:13
Perhaps God is more like the 3x5 notecard crammed with notes that you are allowed to peek at.
Or the song you made up to remember the order of the dates.
Or the study group you meet with late the night before.
God is what gets you through. What makes the test a little less awful. God is rooting for you, and before you've even turned it in, God Is waiting with a gold star sticker saying "I'm sorry we had to do that, but at least we were in it together!"