These were a few of the nifty tricks I used to get through school. My strategy was, let someone else do the boring study, all I need is the right answers. Several of my “good” friends would pass their completed algebra exam back to me before the final bell. I would just write the answer next to the problem. I didn’t have time to do all of that “figurin’”. I remember during one exam a friend standing over one of the good students writing answers as fast as he could before the bell rang. When the teacher called him out, he replied, “I’ve got to have something to turn in.”

Later in college I learned to cram facts into my noodle long enough to dump them on the exam paper. If you asked me a question 10 minutes later, I usual response was, “I can’t remember.” They were just key words with no application. I studied for the test.

For many years this was my strategy to approach God. Crisis prayers with answers needed now! While God can & does work instantly, I have noticed in my life He uses a process. It’s a process of discovering life lessons in His textbook, the Bible. Bible Study Fellowship has provided me with the structure of an in-dept approach to scripture application. It’s not key word memorization but meat on the bone’s scripture with real-life people experiencing fears, anxiety, sin, impossible situations, rejection, doubts, poor, sick, ruthless battles, addiction, and life that mirrors today. It’s a fascinating love letter. It is where God provides the answers to today’s test. And it’s an open book test.

But why would a loving God test us? First, we need to discover the purpose of the test. Check out Genesis chapters 37-50. It’s a fascinating story. God had a mighty work planned for Joseph. Psalm 105:19 says, ”the Lord tested Joseph’s character.” Then in James 1:2-8 we discover even more of the purpose. “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” Joseph took many tests and passed them all.

In addition, I have found through God’s testing His Promise found in James 4:8, “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you”. I have never felt closer to Him than when in the storms of life. His presence is real. Psalm 139:7 “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?”

Are you worried about what’s on your test? Good News, if you are a Born-Again Believer (John 3: 3) in Jesus Christ, Jesus promised us our own personal tutor, The Holy Spirit. Jesus told us in John 14:16-17, “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept him because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you.”  Simply put , the world thinkers are on their own while God’s children have access to all the answers. “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My Name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” John 14:26

And the Wonderful Good News found in 1 Corinthians 15:57, “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” This victory is not based on what you or I do but, what Jesus did on His Cross. “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9

Are you struggling with an upcoming test? Try this. “Be still, and know that I am God.”  Psalm 46:10