The Trial and the Testing(1)
The Trial and the Testing(1)
From Monday—tomorrow—the forty holy days begin… And the Fast of the Forty Days is the fast that the Lord Jesus fasted, for the Holy Bible mentions that the Lord Christ spent forty days on the mountain fasting and being tempted by the devil…
And if a person prepares himself in fasting to walk in a spiritual way, the devil also prepares himself to fight this person and to wage war against him in order to make him fall into disobedience… I mean that the preparation here is mutual… preparation on the part of the person to walk in the way of God, and preparation on the part of the devil to fight this person! And therefore, we find that many fasting people are exposed to spiritual wars particularly during the fast. And for this reason, a person sometimes is surprised and wonders: how does he face this war, even though he is in a state of fasting? But the reason is that the devil wants to test you in the fast…!
And you, if you want to walk a spiritual path, know that the devil will not leave you, for he is not pleased to see a person walking in the way of God. And the devil always obstructs every spiritual work and obstructs everyone who walks in the way of God…!
Do not be upset, then, by the temptations that come in fasting, for temptations must come in fasting… for that is proof that your fasting is effective, and that your spiritual conduct has its effect which disturbs the devil…!
On the contrary, you should be upset when temptations do not occur, for here you should ask: why does the devil leave us without temptations? Does he despise our striving? And are our fasting and prayers not frightening to the devils, and therefore they leave us?
If the devils fight you in the Great Fast, be reassured and know that your fasting is successful, and therefore the devil has not left you, and has envied your spiritual life because of your success in your fasting… so he moved in opposition to cause you to fall into temptation and to launch war against you!
Count it all joy, my brothers, if you fall—during the fast—into temptations… And know that the Lord Jesus Himself—when He fasted—was exposed to temptation, and the devil kept testing Him for forty days and forty nights… the temptation did not calm during that period…!
Therefore, the monks say: the period of fasting is the period of temptations…!
And if a person finds himself struggling in fasting, let him not be upset, but he must know that it is a warfare from the devil…
Temptations are necessary, for the spiritual life of a person must be tested, and thus God permits temptations as a testing of our spirituality… And He allows the devil to fight us so that we may be tested, and our freedom may be tested—whether it is walking in the way of good or walking in the way of evil…
And God permits the devil to fight us so that our will may be tested and our love for God may be tested… Thus, “testing” must exist in the life of a person, and God must test our life, our love for Him, and our will…!
There must be testing… in everything… gold is tested by fire… the student is tested by examination, the man is tested by the woman, and the woman is tested by the man… and the spiritual person is tested by temptations… and he must enter into the wars of the devil and strive and succeed…!
God placed the principle of testing from the beginning… since Adam, God permitted the devil to test him and tempt him, and to tempt Eve with him… to see whether they were steadfast in the love of God and in following His commandment or not!
A person must be tested… temptations, difficulties, pain, desires, money, the body, the mind… and others—these are aspects in which a person is tested, in order to know to what extent he is steadfast in God and walking in His path according to His commandments…
In the story of Job the righteous, we feel the testing very clearly… for the devil came and said to God: Job worships You for the good things You have given him… for his wealth, his children, his comfort, and his honor… he worships You for this, not freely… if You take that from him and remove it, he will not remain steadfast… rather he will turn back… and he must be tested.
And God permitted the testing of Job, and it was a severe and harsh test… the hand of the devil in it was strong and forceful… but it was shown that Job’s nature was good, and he remained steadfast. He said: the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord… and he blessed the name of God in the time of affliction!!
And Job succeeded in the test and overcame the temptation…
Likewise Abraham—the father of prophets—was tested with a very severe and harsh test and passed a difficult exam… when God said to him: take your son, your only one, whom you love—Isaac… and asked him to offer him himself as a burnt offering…!
Thus Abraham’s obedience was tested, and he succeeded in the exam and offered us a wondrous example in obedience to the Lord…!
Joseph the righteous also was exposed to an exam, for the temptation presented itself to him, insisted on him, and surrounded him… from his master’s wife who had authority over him… in circumstances where sin was easy and convenient… yet he stood firm and accepted to be thrown into prison and have evil accusations spread about him… he accepted all of that rather than fall into sin…
Joseph was tested with a severe and harsh test… and he succeeded…!
Peter the Apostle and disciple was also exposed to testing… when he was proud and said to the Lord: even if everyone denies You, I will not deny You… and if it leads to dying with You… In this case God permitted him to be exposed to temptation and testing, so that he might appear before himself and know his true nature and weakness!
Sometimes a person has arrogance, so God tests him and permits him to fall so that he may know humility and not boast falsely…!
There are people who were tested and were found lacking… like Demas, the companion of Paul the Apostle, of whom Paul said: “Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world.”
And there are other people… like those of whom John said: “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us they would have continued with us.”
And sometimes temptations are to test friends and enemies… as the poet says:
“May God reward hardships with all goodness… through them I knew my enemy from my friend.”
Do not think that temptations are for humans only… even the angels were exposed to temptations; some fell and became devils, and some remained steadfast and stayed in their angelic glory and were crowned.
Our life on earth is all testing… and we are not tested only in the forty holy days… rather we are tested throughout life… so that the purity of our hearts may appear and the steadfastness of our will in the love of God…
The saints—in the wilderness—passed through many tests, and according to the tests they went through and were exposed to, they acquired experience… they experienced spiritual life and the wars of devils—the wars of thought and wars of the heart—therefore they became spiritual guides… strong… because they were tested and experienced…!
And in monasticism, they speak of being guided by the elders… because those elders experienced spiritual wars… and wars of thoughts and devils and troubles… and learned the tricks of devils… and therefore Paul the Apostle says about the devil: “we are not ignorant of his devices”… for he became—through experience—understanding of the devil, knowing his methods and tricks!
Testing gives us experience and strength, and therefore we should not be upset by tests, because in every test we come out with benefit… at least, whoever wants to benefit… and from every blow of the devil we take a lesson… and likewise from every fall; therefore one of the saints said: “I do not remember that the devils weakened me in the same sin twice!”
He who falls continually does not benefit… a person gains wisdom from temptations!
In the forty holy days, we may be exposed to various temptations; we must stand firm through the spirit of prayer and take from them experience and blessing…!
The Lord Christ Himself was tested in the forty holy days… the devil tempted Him for forty days and forty nights, but the Lord Christ triumphed in all these temptations… and the devil knew that He was firm and not easy… even when he fought Him with holy verses, the Lord Christ exposed his errors…!
And in his testing of a person, the devil chooses the war he wants… at the time he wants… and with the intention he wants as well…
And the devil is skilled in choosing the times, the weapons of war, and its methods…
So be you also wise in battle… David the prophet said: “Blessed be the Lord who teaches my hands to war and my fingers to fight!”
And we, my brothers, throughout our lives are exposed to spiritual wars… and do not think that a certain age escapes a certain war… the war we are exposed to can be in anything, in any situation, in any place, and on any day—even if it is a holy day… I tell you: a person may be fought right after receiving Communion…!
The devil fights at any time and in any manner… but you must understand the devil’s methods… If you know that the Lord Christ Himself was fought by the devil, then you will be strengthened in the Lord; and know that the grace of the Lord surrounds you and gives you strength… for He fights on our behalf so that we may triumph, as He triumphed…!
Live in the Lord, be strengthened in His love, and enter into the wars of the devil without fear…!
Do not fear the devils, for they are weak creatures, and they fear you, because you are temples of God… you are temples of the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit of God dwells in you… and this terrifies the devils…!
Enter into spiritual life, and if temptations come to you, stand firm against them…
Temptations may come from devils… or from within the person… or from false brothers… or from the members of your own household, for the Scripture says: the enemies of a man are the members of his household…!
None of this matters… enter into temptations and do not fear, being strengthened in the Lord… simple as children, wise as serpents…!
Some people say that children are simple… but children have no experience and have not been exposed to testing… There is a difference between a person who has not fought and not triumphed, and a person who has fought and struggled and triumphed…!
Do not think that God judges all people with one measure… rather He judges each one according to his wars and the strength he has outwardly… and the extent of this strength’s readiness to face war, and the amount of help that comes to him from the Holy Spirit!
And He knows the weak and the poor!
If you are tested, know that God is always testing you… but the testing is:
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According to your strength, and Scripture says: “God is faithful; He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able!”
So know that God tests you according to your endurance! -
The temptation has a way out, and the problem carries within itself the key to its solution… for if God wills to test by sinking the ship, He gives the lifeboat.
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And every temptation comes with a crown and benefit… therefore rejoice in temptations and be glad…
We ask from God, Jesus Christ who triumphed in temptation and was able to subdue the devils, to give us strength in our temptations so that we may stand firm and triumph!!
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An article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III published in Watani newspaper on 20-2-1972
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