Test-drive The Promises

Your promises have been thoroughly tested; that is why I love them so much.

Psalm 119:140

Have you ever spent time in God’s waiting room? God brings waiting periods into our lives for a very good reason: so that we can test-drive our faith.

If we were planning to buy a car, we could research our purchase and decide what car we wanted—what make and model, what color, what add-on features. We could know everything about the car we wanted except how it handles in our hands. Not until we get behind the wheel and drive it for ourselves will we know the feel of the car. We have to drive it before we can know exactly how to adjust the seat and the mirrors, how much pressure to put on the brake pedal to come to a smooth stop, or how responsive the steering wheel is. We won’t make our purchase until we’ve handled the car ourselves—until we’ve given it a test-drive.

It’s the same way with our faith. We can study faith. We can memorize verses about faith. We can learn slick, pithy definitions of faith. But until we have the opportunity to test-drive our faith, we will never know how well it responds. That’s where God’s tested promises come in.

How are the promises tested? Believing God’s promises activates our faith and puts it to work. Accessing the promises entails waiting to see them fulfilled. The Scripture instructs us to “imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised” (Hebrews 6:12, NIV 1984). Testing and proving the promises calls for faith and patience—in other words, waiting.

When God allows you to test-drive your faith over and over again, you learn how to operate with confidence. You become a mature and seasoned faith walker. You know you can trust the promises because you have seen them thoroughly tested in the laboratory of real life.

Father, thank you for waiting periods in my life. Thank you for letting me see your promises at work. Pedal to the metal. Full speed ahead.

Biblically, waiting is not just something we have to do until we get what we want. Waiting is part of the process of becoming what God wants us to be.

John Ortberg(1957–), American pastor, writer, and speaker