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Look at Abraham's testimony that when he and his wife Sarah were too old to have children, God gave them a son supernaturally. Or the people of Israel stuck between the Red Sea in front and the Egyptian army at the back, and then God making a way for them miraculously through the sea! These are the kind of things we would like to see happen in various forms in our lives, and this is the type of testimony we usually hear in churches. These are about unexpected or sought-after miracles we experience in our lives. The ending is always pleasant.

But look at the apostle Paul who was being buffeted by Satan giving him daily trouble through a thorn in his flesh, and the final answer God gave him at the end of serious prayer was that this trouble would continue! The good news was that God's grace would see Paul through, enabling him to bear the trouble graciously, and bringing about the spiritual benefit of keeping him in humility (2Co.12:7-9). This kind of testimony is not something that appeals to us naturally. Another example we see is Job who lost all his children and wealth in a single day, and the testimony that God gave about him was that he had passed the test (Job.1:22).

Many Christians are not aware of these tests going on in their lives because they are focussed too much on avoiding problems. For them, 'overcoming' refers to dealing with difficult situations by getting miraculous answers to their prayers. They have not been taught, and thus many of them are not even aware, that there is a higher level of overcoming. If, instead, our eyes are focussed on what is happening in our spirit, victory would refer to overcoming temptations in the spiritual realm. That is the kind of tests we should be interested in passing.

"For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God" (Jas.5:11). What does it naturally occur to us to pray for? That people should stop treating us harshly. That would be one type of victory. But we must also become aware of the other type, referring to spiritually overcoming our temptation, such as to take revenge, refuse to forgive, teach them a lesson, etc., and to learn to be gracious.

In the so-called chapter on the heroes of faith, Heb.11, the first part talks about those who were able to give the first type of testimony. But the second part mentions some who apparently lost out in their difficult situations of life. But God's testimony about them was that they had triumphed over the situations through faith! We don't wish to be in such situations, naturally speaking. But when we do go through them when God permits them for us, shall we turn our focus to overcoming in our inside? As God told Paul, His grace will be sufficient to take us through, and make us more mature and able to stand till the end. That can be our testimony during such times.

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