Several friends of mine recently told me about all the things that are going wrong in their lives right now. In an effort to comfort them, I shared what I believe God has shown me about this season.
There is a testing going on right now, one that is affecting all of us. Everything is being weighed — our thoughts, attitudes, beliefs, spiritual inheritances, bloodline issues — to see where we are weak.
When God judges and weighs His people, it seems that He doesn’t go through our issues one at a time; He addresses all of them at once. It’s a process somewhat similar to judging an animal at a fair: Every part of that animal is assessed and reviewed for strengths and weaknesses, and any flaw in any area is poked and prodded and exposed.
While this is going on, we tend to be very aware of our faults. Our issues come up. Some of us may find ourselves struggling with finances and hereditary illnesses. We feel like we’re under spiritual attack. God is testing us — not to condemn us but to deal with our weaknesses.
Whenever He does this, He has a reason and a purpose, both of which are usually better and more significant than we realize. This is the year 2009. Nine is the number of judgment. It isn’t so much the passing of judgment as it is the process of judgment, in which the weaknesses and limitations of every person are exposed. God judges us because He is preparing us for Himself. He’s getting ready to move and pour out and bless — and to bring judgment on those who aren’t responding.
What is the most important thing we can do during this time? We can embrace God’s testing. Instead of cowering or drawing back, we should lay everything out before Him and let Him touch, handle, heal, remove and rearrange as He sees fit. We want Him to take care of any holes or weak spots within us, so that when the fullness of judgment arrives, we will be overcome with blessing.
This is a really good thing that’s happening right now. It’s exciting and positive. The weights are heavy today because we’re going to be stronger tomorrow. When many of us hear about testing, we sigh and groan, “Oh, great.” But there is a very odd thing that happens when we’re in alignment with God and His will for our lives: We don’t want the judging process to end. We realize the benefit of it, and instead of trying to get through it, we learn to embrace it as an opportunity to study and adopt the ways of God.
The Weighed and tested in 2009 by Jim Driscoll, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Thanks so much for this word. Please pray that I will have God’s wisdom as I have many changes coming into my life.
Thanks for making this word available. Wow!! It does take such a strain off of me as now I understand what God is doing with me. I believed this by faith alright but sight helps too.
Thanks again and isn’t it true what the scripture says ” there is no temptation taken us….
Yes, as I have a knot in my stomach and in my throat! He spoke to me about being in the fire, but very nice to have it confirmed that all this is coming from Him to stregthen the week spots.
*note to Patricia: my confession lately has been: Jesus has been made Wisdom unto me.
The Spirit of Wisdom fills every part of my being, body, soul, and spirit.
I am blessed with Wisdom and Understanding!
Wisdom guards my thoughts, my words, and my ways.
I love and cherish Wisdom!
The Wonderful thing is that we have been made Overcomers, Thank you Jesus!
Thank you sooo much. Now I understand better what is going on with me. Now I understand better what I have to do.
Jim, right on. This has been going on with me, weaknesses exposed. It’s painful & my immediate reaction is to defend or point out where others might have gone wrong. However, when I’ve embraced it, it has not been all that bad, and really has worked out better. God is good.
Yah, the process is very unconfortable. It’s just the knowledge that God must be doing something special and must have greater things ahead, that makes it possible to embrace it; that and plenty of His grace!
Great word Jim! Thank you for the insight. Just this morning the Lord took me to Jeremiah 18 which speaks about the potter and the clay. We are in Gods hand for reshaping. It’s just so encouraging to hear from God to know that He is in control of our lives. I intend to listen closely and make the changes He instructs.
My husband and I both are going through a number of things all at once and didn’t understand WHY?. This atricle help bring understanding as to why this needed to happen. Thank you for posing this aricle of knowledge.
YES!!…that’s what Holy Spirit has been telling me, too. Thank you Father, that You love us sooooo much that You confirm and reconfirm to us what You are doing! Go God! You say You will show us things to come…and we are grateful!
Good word! – It’s amazing how little the pain matters in light of the joy that results from Papa’s attention.
Thanks for confirming what I was feeling, I knew God was doing something but I just could not pen point it. When I arose this morning I said it’s all for a purpose and for your Glory.
In His Service,
This is a timely word which I can certainly relate to. I’ve been experiencing one thing after another lately and figured God was doing something in me. Although it’s hard to take at times, I’m grateful to the Lord that he’s actually grooming me for grateness! God bless you.
Either we have the same friends or that is a very timely word.
Thanks Jim
This is the first light I have had to my queries of “Why are you doing this God”. I feel so much better now. Thank you.
This answers a lot of questions. There is a lot of internal, very personal purging going on in my life. Painful but necessary. Hard to be joy-filled about it, but I do see the bigger picture. Thanks for the word
I was sitting the other day contemplating all of the crazy things happening in my life, and God showed me a picture of a prticular part of a golden vessel, then I saw a few spots of mixed metal in it, then I saw a hand move over them as someone would do when they were examining a piece of work to locate the spots that needed to be removed, and I realised that this was God showing me that He has a little more work to do, but it wont be long.
So timely Jim- this is a powerful word that speaks to my heart. Definitely a time of testing here. And it has been ongoing almost exactly since the beginning of January – December 29th to be exact…So thank for posting it. Always good to know you’re not alone!
Lynda Meyers
This is a timely word for me, I have had every kind of sickness that it does give me the peace to look up and let him speak to me.
Jim,
This is a tinely message for me. Judgement for the believer, in my understanding, means “separation”. God is separating from my heart attitudes, wrong motives, etc. – all those impurities that would hold me back from walking in the Blessing that is already mine.
Thank you!
This is a ontime word for me and I know it was just for me. I am going through everything you described, and holding onto his unchanging hand. Thanks for the Word!
I am glad you explained this and it is true he is definitely doing that in my own life and he has showed me, me. I am slowly making the necessary adjustments and slowly accepting this place I am in. I am okay since I know it will make Holy as he is Holy. thanks Jim
Thanks for the info I am slowly moving along and I am seeing me and yes I have to admit, it was not what I wanted to go through but if it will make me like my Daddy then so be it. Thanks Mr. Driscoll
Thank you for the insight.
Please pray for me……thank you to Jesus for this.
Thanks Jim, I agree with your article. I believe God is bringing us as a people to full maturity through a process of complete surrendering to His will. This means trusting Him to take us through a process we don’t understand. We trust Him to take us through the pain of the fire, the wilderness, and the dark night. When the pain seems too great to bear and He doesn’t seem to relent, we continue to trust Him and not quit. We say, “Though you slay me, yet will I trust you”. We remember His ways are higher than our ways. The paradox is this: He breaks us to make us strong. He strips us of ourselves so He can fill us with more of Him. He humbles us in order to raise us up. We go into this process kicking and screaming and come out saying, yes Lord; your will, not my will be done. God is wanting to raise up a Bride who is resiliant in the face of opposition. A Bride who can weary the enemy, sending him running in the opposite direction. A Bride who can be trusted to do great exploits to advance His Kingdom; to bring Him great glory!
Wow Jim. This word is an INCREDIBLE blessing. Thank you so much for sharing. It really gives me a perspective now to continue dealing with my stuff and help others as they go through their tests. It is an imperative word.
“A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.” Proverbs 25:11
Thanks Jim,
- Jessica M.
Thank you for sharing this word. Sometimes we feel weary when suffering persecution for our faith – this is a time when we need to be able to walk the walk.
Please for His sustainance and His supernatural provision.
I thank GOD for this word and I embrace it. More of HIM and less of me. The Lord is preparing His Bride without spot or wrinkle.
Jim,
Thank you so much for this word. I just had several days of bad news of one sort and another, including health, money and the death of an old friend and was struggling with a number of issues…including the thought that I’ve sought to serve faithfully but wonder what I have achieved if anything and feeling pretty rubbish about my laziness, lack of discipline and prayerlessness and fearful about the future. Then I realised the timing … just when my husband is away and just when I have been asking the Lord to sort me out, so it was time to fight back and to push into God and depend on him. On Sunday the meeting leader showed us a video of a father who undertook the iron man with his son who had cerebral palsy and couldn’t speak or walk. What a picture of our dependence on God!
Thank you so much…
I have been in a season of lack in finaces six months. During this time I have been made aware of more and more of my weaknesses. Just yesterday I told the LORD; I receive your chastisment. What is bloodline issues?
Yay for testing! And being prodded and rearranged–and then healed, strengthened and wiser for it all. Thanks Jim–I always love to hear your wisdom. God bless!
Yes very encouraging I will print it out, as a reminder. The enemy sure like to hammer. But I thank the Lord for his mercy in this. Yes Father.
I sooo needed to hear this. I have been waiting a very long time for a prayer to be answered. And I can’t help but feel it’s right around the corner. I don’t mind the judgment. I want Him to expose everything that I need to get rid of in order for me to walk in the mission He has for me. We all hate tests, but the rewards are so worth it. Great word, Jim. Thanks.
This word popped up in my email today, though I am on your mailing list, sometimes I get notification of things you promote or write about, sometimes not. This was such an encouragement. Reminding me that I have not lost my mind, this is exactly where I am at but even more importantly- every believer I know of is truly being tested and tried at this time. I was able to share this with my brother who no job and is not knowing what is happening or which way to turn. I sent it to him fully expecting him to poo-poo it cause in the angst of the current situation he is tentative to “listen” to “God stuff” angry and all of that. It pierced his heart which in turn pierced mine further. thanks
God is directing our steps, THANK YOU GOD.
This is a timely word. Thank you
WOW!!! Powerful article. Excellent feeback from everyone! Thanks for the insight and hope for a better day. God bless you all!
Very timely, thank you!
Thank you Jim for putting words to what has definitely been going on in my life and the lives of several of my close friends. Thank you for calling unto HIM and finding HIM and sharing those great and mighty things we do not know. It is very encouraging and does so spur me on to love and good deeds!
Jeremiah 33:3 “‘Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”
Hebrews 10:24 “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”
Always reaching for mor of HIM,
Patti
Great article Jim! Perfect timing for me and some things I’ve been wondering about. Thanks for sharing!
Awesome!!! I felt it and my Bishop preached it and I am seeking God to fine tune the rough areas of my life. I am seeing the testing as an opportunity to line my life up with the word of God. I desperately want to adhere to it, yet the natural situations seem to be dictating just the opposite in my finances. Rising above the natural into the supernatural promises of God is my challenge! Thanks for the word.
Sherry
@Patricia
This makes since I have been struggling this year with these issues. Ugh! Ok…God is profecting my weekness.
Wow. What a word. It just brings this amazing order in my life. Just the other day I screamed at God at the top of my lungs “WHAT ARE YOU DOING ?”, (I was in my truck so nobody else could hear me!) I think He heard me:) Thank you so much Jim for this word your obedience and willingness to be His voice, It is not that it make a easier but understanding His hand brings order and peace and it make also a huge difference that I am not the only one going through it. Jessica Meyers said it right on; Prov 25:11 I really like the Message version of it: “The right word at the right time is like a custom-made piece of jewelry,
And a wise friend’s timely reprimand
is like a gold ring slipped on your finger.”
THANK YOU, Blessings John Gabriel
This was confirming because I was getting sick and was spiritually dying in a situation where I was being attacked by leadership. God said move out and on and I did and the weight that lifted was great but still I am in the fire. There is no rest other than to rest in God Himself. He is calling us to Himself.
Thank you Jim so very much for this timely word! I read something yesterday about testing. The writer said that she always fails the test the first time, because she tries in her own strength. The second or third time she passes it because she learns to trust God and it is through His power that she finally overcomes. So perhaps failing isn’t so bad afterall as you point out, but a step towards victory and maturity. It is all about Him, Jesus, our elder Brother and Bridegroom, becoming more like Him. This is not something we can do in our own stresngth, it is something only He can do in us. Blessings on you!
The body of Christ is global. It doesn t matter where you live USA , Afrika or like me in France, its all the same.A great deal of honesty and being humble is my prayer for you all.
really needed this blog as a confirmation type I am was so stressed out with everything thats going on in my life I was getting very upset thinking to give up felt like it was no use after reading this I took new courage and realized it was in my spirit all the time the weighing thing ..I just didnt listen .
I will now enter and try to grow gracefully without looking like the Israelite I am: moaning ike in the old days ..thanks so much for sharing your blog ,
nicole
Now for the strength to admit, relinquish, endure.
I saw this and said, thank you, God, for going out of your way to reassure me again at just the right time. I have had such a prolonged period of stressors that I sometimes wonder if I will ever come out of this. But then something happens to explain or sustain or comfort me and I take another deep breath and go forward again. Please keep sending me this. Thanks. MB
I am sorry to retract what I just said. I just clicked on some of your sponsored links and saw astrology promoted. Scripture tells us not to pursue astrology and I am sorry to learn that I was sent this way by my church. Any falsehood mixed in with truth is all deception. But I am glad that God provided the information. He truly safeguards those who are his own, and I praise him for that. MB
PRAISE BE TO GOD WHO ALWAYS CAUSES US TO TRIUMPH. WE ARE MORE THAN CONQUEROR THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS US. REMEMBER ABRAHAM BELIEVED BEYOND HOPE. HE WAS STRENGTHENED IN FAITH AS HE GAVE PRAISES. 2 CHRON 20 SAYS THE BATTLES NOT OURS BUT THE LORDS. GOD IS FAITHFUL, MEETING ALL OUR NEED ACCORDING TO HIS RICHES IN GLORY. I REMIND YOU TODAY WHAT THE LORD SHOWED ME IN HIS WORD TODAY. DO NOT LET YOUR WORDS DEPART FROM MY WORD. OUR WORDS ARE CONTAINERS OF FAITH. MANY ARE CONDEMNED BY THEIR WORDS. THE MIRACLE IS IN YOUR MOUTH. STAY IN FAITH. DO NOT WAIVER IN UNBELIEF. STAY IN THE WORD. ALWAYS STAY ON GOD’S SIDE.