God is our refuge and our strength. We are also reminded that God “tests the righteous.” Yes, we may – and do – suffer pain. Job suffered the loss of everything. Yet, from the hand of God, we are being strengthened, tempered, and refined. The testing from God is meant to prepare us and not to harm us. Thus, we are being prepared for glory.
For look! The wicked bend their bow, They make ready their arrow on the string, That they may shoot secretly at the upright in heart…The LORD tests the righteous, But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates.
(Psalm 11:2 & 5)
In the verses which we are considering this week we see two distinct ways in which the Christian is caused to suffer affliction, testing or trial. The first is at the hand of “the wicked”. The wicked are here shown to be acting as secret soldiers in a war against the children of God. The second cause for suffering or trial is shown to be directly from the hand of God; verse five informs us that God “tests the righteous”. It is obvious that testing from God and the attacks of the wicked are not the same; but in the moment, the pain is felt in both instances.
What is the difference? And how should we as Christians respond to various trials?
I distinctly recall a time when I was at the archery range preparing my bow and arrow for a shot at the target, when as the string was halfway drawn, my string slipped loose from the release, and sent the arrow flying randomly down range. Thankfully it landed safely into a back-stop which was installed to protect against harm in just such an instance.