being tested

²My brothers, when you have fallen into various trials, consider everything a joy, ³knowing that the proving of your faith exercises patience, ⁴and patience brings a work to perfection, so that you may be perfect and whole, deficient in nothing.

¹²Blessed is the man who suffers temptation. For when he has been proven, he shall receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love him.

³Just as silver is tested by fire, and gold is tested in the furnace, so also does the Lord test hearts.

¹²Most beloved, do not choose to sojourn in the passion which is a temptation to you, as if something new might happen to you. ¹³But instead, commune in the Passion of Christ, and be glad that, when his glory will be revealed, you too may rejoice with exultation. ¹⁴If you are reproached for the name of Christ, you will be blessed, because that which is of the honor, glory, and power of God, and that which is of his Spirit, rests upon you. ¹⁵But let none of you suffer for being a murderer, or a thief, or a slanderer, or one who covets what belongs to another. ¹⁶But if one of you suffers for being a Christian, he should not be ashamed. Instead, he should glorify God in that name. ¹⁷For it is time that judgment begin at the house of God. And if it is first from us, what shall be the end of those who do not believe the Gospel of God?

¹³Temptation should not take hold of you, except what is human. For God is faithful, and he will not permit you to be tempted beyond your ability. Instead, he will effect his Providence, even during temptation, so that you may be able to bear it.

⁷so that the testing of your faith, which is much more precious than gold tested by fire, may be found in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

¹After these things occurred, God tested Abraham, and he said to him, “Abraham, Abraham.” And he answered, “Here I am.” ²He said to him: “Take your only begotten son Isaac, whom you love, and go into the land of vision. And there you shall offer him as a holocaust upon one of the mountains, which I will show to you.” ³And so Abraham, getting up in the night, harnessed his donkey, taking with him two youths, and his son Isaac. And when he had cut wood for the holocaust, he traveled toward the place, as God had instructed him. ⁴Then, on the third day, lifting up his eyes, he saw the place at a distance. ⁵And he said to his servants: “Wait here with the donkey. I and the boy will hurry further ahead to that place. After we have worshipped, will return to you.” ⁶He also took the wood for the holocaust, and he imposed it upon his son Isaac. And he himself carried in his hands fire and a sword. And as the two continued on together,

²⁶For the Lord will be at your side, and he will guard your feet, so that you may not be seized.

¹⁰For you, O God, have tested us. You have examined us by fire, just as silver is examined.

¹⁰Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Do not turn away, for I am your God. I have strengthened you, and I have assisted you, and the right hand of my just one has upheld you.

⁴For you have not yet resisted unto blood, while striving against sin. ⁵And you have forgotten the consolation which speaks to you like sons, saying: “My son, do not be willing to neglect the discipline of the Lord. Neither should you become weary, while being rebuked by him.” ⁶For whomever the Lord loves, he chastises. And every son whom he accepts, he scourges. ⁷Persevere in discipline. God presents you to himself as sons. But what son is there, whom his father does not correct? ⁸But if you are without that discipline in which all have become sharers, then you are of adultery, and you are not sons. ⁹Then, too, we have certainly had the fathers of our flesh as instructors, and we reverenced them. Should we not obey the Father of spirits all the more, and so live?

⁶Be anxious about nothing. But in all things, with prayer and supplication, with acts of thanksgiving, let your petitions be made known to God. ⁷And so shall the peace of God, which exceeds all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

¹⁰Truly, he knows my way and has tested me like gold that passes through fire.

¹And Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan. And he was urged by the Spirit into the wilderness ²for forty days, and he was tested by the devil. And he ate nothing in those days. And when they were completed, he was hungry. ³Then the devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, speak to this stone, so that it may be made into bread.” ⁴And Jesus answered him, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ” ⁵And the devil led him onto a high mountain, and he showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, ⁶and he said to him: “To you, I will give all this power, and its glory. For they have been handed over to me, and I give them to whomever I wish.