What does God gain from 'testing' our faith in him?

Question

Even if you don't believe that God is directly doing the testing, he is allowing it to happen, making it very difficult for those who want to believe. Why would God do this?

Answer 1

It's an important question.

I think that, if you look at other areas of life (education, adolescence, relationships), you will see that without any sort of challenge or opportunity to build discipline, there is no growth.

If your school teachers never tested you, even if you claimed to like the subject at hand, you would probably not put in the time to study and thus not learn nearly as much.

You would also not know what you had learned and had not learned -- unless you were put on the spot. It's amazing what we discover during a test.

Testing puts people in a situation where everything they know and believe has to be brought out to the forefront in order to pass the test successfully. There are things you learn in the middle of being tested -- the experience itself -- that you cannot learn by memorizing text out of a book or talking to others.

But most importantly, faith is not a test of knowledge but a commitment and a choice. When you are put in a tough spot and you realize that you will have to pay a price to believe what you want to believe, then you have to decide whether the price is worth it. People who have suffered religious persecution understand this -- and, if they choose to accept hardship in order to still believe, they often even love the object of their faith more afterwards than before.

If you get married, for example, you will face "tests" of many sorts. Perhaps you have the choice to spend time with your spouse or spend it doing other things you really like to do. Choosing to spend that time with your spouse not only shows your attitude towards the relationship but also makes you even MORE committed to your spouse... because you have sacrificed things for him/her.

Jesus says, "Where your heart is, your treasure will be." Testing gives you the opportunity to put your heart somewhere, so that you can even more treasure it.

There's no way to avoid testing; and while testing is hard, we cannot develop committed relationships and passions for things we believe in without testing occurring.

It's better to suffer some and build something wonderful / go someplace wonderful in your life because of the commitments that occurred during testing, than it is to live a complete life of comfort and not be committed to anything or have done anything by the end of it.

Answer 2

God never test your faith. he allows your faith to be tested. It isn't for him it is for you. In case you haven't figured it out quite yet, this is a class room. If you remember, Jesus had disciples. A disciple is a person that is being disciplined or taught by someone that knows more then they do about what is best for them. It is all voluntary army. God wants you to surrender to His Spirit for teaching. It is always an act of free will. Once you have surrendered to His will, it is only when you try to take it back that things seem to be harder. That is because God took your commitment serious. From that moment to this one, He is dedicated to giving you your inheritance. He will not allow anything that you cannot handle to come against you. Faith is like a muscle. If you do not exercises it, it will not grow. Love and Peace, The Rev.

Answer 3

Maybe it is not so much that he really cares if we believe in him in the sense that you are suggesting. Maybe what he is looking for are the values holding true despite horrendous circumstances. I truly don't believe it matters if it is God, the Creator, or energy that we believe in, as long as we are kind loving individuals who do our best to bring happiness rather then pain into the world. God is testing our courage to do what is right when it would be easier to choose less formidable paths. The image of God was given to us because humans are curious, questioning people, not because He has a form we could understand otherwise. So our tests are in our faith that we can do right and in the long run eat the sweet fruits of Eden, not in if we believe that a long haired, white man is our God.

Answer 4

I don't think that God gains anything from testing. However, what we gain is a stronger faith or we learn a way to emerge victorious from a bad situation. It's a kind of fitness for our faith. If we never used our muscles, they would become weak. The same goes for our faith - we need ways to strengthen our faith. That way when something really bad happens we will be prepared to truly trust in Him.

Answer 5

Isnt it better to be tested than surprised at the end and sent to eternal punishment? Look at sports as an example. Testing is done in practice sessions as preparation for the competition.
You are hinting at the idea that God wants us to fail. Most religions see God as helping us to succeed.

Answer 6

God tests nothing.

Judgment is required for a test to be necessary. God judges nothing.

If this sound odd to you it is because you have been led to believe things about god that are not true.

I suggest you read the course in miracles. It is like an antidote for the lies that have been told about our loving source. Love and blessings.

Answer 7

God doesn't, you do. That's like asking what does a teacher gain by giving us a test? The teacher doesn't, you gain, because you learned. If you fail the test, you will have to "retake" it later. Once you have the "material" down pat, you can "graduate" from the school of life.

Answer 8

I think that question is tied into the question about why God let Adam and Eve be tempted by the Devil. I think that God has a purpose in shaping us in this fallen world that has to do with being more fit to spend all eternity with Him. I can't be more specific than that, but it seems like it's necessary to make us more like Jesus.

Romans 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

Answer 9

God doesn't gain, we do.
If we pass the test given to us, we then verify how strongly we believe in Him and it makes us learn to lean on Him more. If we fail, we question our belief and by that learn to be stronger in Him as well.
Failing a test does not mean complete failure, look at Peter's denial of Christ, he repented and became a stronger person for Christ.

Answer 10

God is the know all. He will know our choices before he even sets a test.

So I conclude that he is just bored and playing games with us, hoping hard that one of us can prove him wrong, but unfortunately his always right, and his probably going to continue playing these games until one of his personal predictions did not come true.