There was a young man named Joe who was in high school. Joe’s final exams were drawing near but he refused to study for them. He thought, “Oh I know that stuff, I’ll get by just fine.” He would go hang out with friends and he would celebrate that graduation was coming up shortly. Then the night before exams he decided to study. He skimmed through every one of his textbooks and through his previous tests. He went to school the next day and took some exams. He passed the tests, but barely. He passed, as some would say, “by the skin of his teeth”. After the test and after he saw his results, Joe told his friends that he wished he would have studied. He said that it wasn’t worth all of the worry that he went through to get through those tests. As Christians, we will go through tests, we will go through trials and temptations. The more we study God’s Word and the closer we get to Him, the easier it will be for us to trust in God and get through the tests. I’m not saying the tests will be easy by any means, but it will be easier for us to pass the tests well if we will study God’s Word and grow closer to Him. The closer we grow to God, and the more we read His Word, the better our witness will be when we face the tests. If we claim to be a Christian, yet act like hope is lost when something bad comes our way, what kind of witness is that to someone else. Rather, if we go through a test and can remain calm knowing that we can do all things through Christ and that God’s grace will be sufficient for us, think of the affect that can have on someone else. Think of the seeds, not just one seed, but many seeds we could plant for the sake of Christ, or how many seeds could be nurtured for Him if we will trust in God when we face hardships. The more we study God’s Word, the better our relationship with God will be, and the better influence we can be to our family, our friends, our neighbors, and everybody we meet. “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV. God Bless!
