What Is God Really Doing When Life Feels Like a Test?
Have you ever had a season in your life where you thought God was testing you? I definitely have. Usually, it happens during really difficult times when I'm already trying to hold onto my faith and make sense of what's going on. I can remember wondering: God, is this a test? Are You just waiting to see if I’ll still trust You when I get to the other side of this?
Maybe part of the reason we think that way is because of what the word "test" means in our everyday lives. We think about a test in school where there’s a right answer and a wrong answer, and once it’s over, we find out whether we passed or failed. It’s easy to carry that exact same mindset into our relationship with God and wonder if He’s grading our faith.
A Different Way to Look at "Testing"
Recently, while writing out Genesis 22:1 during my quiet time, I paused at the words, "God tested Abraham," because something suddenly didn't add up. If God already knew everything in Abraham’s heart, why did He need to test him?
That question sent me back to the original Hebrew word translated as "tested" in Genesis 22:1. The word Nasah (נָסָה) means to test, try, or prove. As I looked at how Scripture uses this idea, I started to see it in a whole new light. God doesn’t need a test to discover what’s in our hearts—He already knows. Instead, a test brings into view the things that we might not see clearly in ourselves.
That was the answer I’d been looking for. When life feels like a test, maybe the main question isn't, "Am I passing or failing?" Maybe it’s, "What is this revealing in me?"
Deuteronomy 8 helps make this even clearer. When Moses looks back on Israel’s years in the wilderness, he explains that God tested them "to know what was in your heart." Their hard circumstances brought to the surface what was already inside them—their fear, their struggle to trust God, and the subtle things they relied on.
Hard seasons do the very same thing in us. We might discover a fear we didn't realize had such a grip on us. We might see how much security we’ve placed in money, another person, a specific plan, or an outcome we desperately want. Sometimes, even a good thing can become something we hold onto more tightly than God Himself.
On the flip side, testing can also reveal something really encouraging! You might walk through something tough and realize that you actually trust God way more than you did a few years ago. You begin to recognize that He’s been growing your faith quietly in the background.
Whatever comes to the surface gives us something honest to bring back to Him. That’s a world away from imagining God standing over us with a grade book, waiting to see if we mess up.
How That Changes Abraham’s Story
Seeing testing this way completely changed how I read Abraham's story in Genesis 22. Isaac wasn't just Abraham’s beloved son; he was tied to every promise God had made. God had promised that His covenant would continue through Isaac, and Abraham and Sarah had waited decades for him.
So when God told Abraham to take Isaac to the land of Moriah and offer him there, what God was asking seemed completely impossible to reconcile with what He had promised.
This is where Abraham’s story hits so close to home. There are times when we know what we believe about God, but our circumstances just don't seem to line up. We believe He is faithful, yet we can't see how He’s going to provide. We believe He hasn't forgotten us, yet nothing is changing. We might even feel like something God gave us is being taken away.
Abraham didn't know how God was going to fix the situation, but he did have a history with Him. He had left his familiar homeland without knowing the destination. He had waited years for his promised son. He had made mistakes and tried to take matters into his own hands, yet he watched God stay faithful through it all.
So much of our relationship with God is formed on the road, not just at the destination. By the time Abraham headed toward Moriah, he wasn't just carrying a heavy command—he was carrying years of learning who God was. Hebrews 11 tells us Abraham believed God could even raise Isaac from the dead. That isn't the kind of faith that comes from knowing the outcome in advance; it’s the kind that grows from knowing the One you're walking with.
What If You Can’t See the Provision Yet?
As Abraham and Isaac walked up the mountain, Isaac noticed there was no lamb and asked his father about it. Abraham answered, "God Himself will provide the lamb."
At that moment, Abraham couldn't see the ram caught in the thicket. He simply trusted that God would provide.
That line gets even better when you look at the Hebrew. The word translated as "provide" comes from Ra'ah, a verb meaning "to see." In this context, seeing carries the idea of seeing to a need. The God who sees the need is the God who provides for it.
When God provided the ram, Abraham named the place YHWH Yireh—The LORD Will Provide. Abraham couldn't see the provision while walking up the mountain, but his inability to see it didn't mean God had stopped seeing him.
If you, too, would rather know the plan in advance, I totally get it! Personally, I’d love to see the ram before I even start walking up the mountain. But Abraham didn't get that guarantee, and most of the time, neither do we.
So What Do We Do When Life Feels Like a Test?
When we find ourselves in a testing season, we can come to God with two honest questions:
"What is this revealing in me?" Bring whatever comes up honestly before Him, whether it’s a hidden fear, a tight grip on an outcome, or the gentle discovery that your faith has grown stronger than you realized.
"What are You showing me about Yourself while I walk through this?" For Abraham, the answer became The LORD Will Provide. This doesn't mean God promises every situation will turn out the way we want. There’s no magic formula that guarantees our preferred outcome if we just trust enough. But it does reveal God’s character: He sees what we cannot see.
Abraham’s story points us toward an even greater provision. God provided a ram in Isaac’s
place, but the story of Scripture eventually leads us to an even greater provision. God gave His own Son for us. Jesus is the ultimate picture of just how far God’s provision goes.
So if you’re in a season that feels like a test right now, bring God whatever this season is uncovering. Ask Him to show you what’s happening in your heart and what He wants you to know about His. And remember: our relationship with God is being formed along the road, not only when we finally reach the destination.
With hope in Him,
Maria
Keep Walking Through This With God
If this season is bringing things to the surface in your own heart, you do not have to rush past them. Take some time to keep walking through this with God.
In the Is This A Test? Journey, we will look more closely at what Abraham learned on the road to Moriah, what God reveals through testing, how to trust Him when you cannot see the provision yet, and what you can hold onto when life does not make sense.
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