Do you remember the movie "Forest Gump"? In the movie, the simple-minded man says, "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get."
But this morning, the Lord showed me a better analogy for life:
"Life is a pop quiz."
Do you remember pop quizzes from school – those unannounced tests that you dreaded?
Unfortunately, many students failed those tests because of the "cram" mentality.
They thought that the teacher would announce all the tests in advance. So they would wait until the night before the test, then try to cram all the facts into their brains in order to pass it.
But in real
life, cramming does not work.
Think about those sudden situations that occur daily when you must choose how to act. That’s one of life’s pop quizzes.
It’s too late to study then. You need an answer at that moment!
When you act in ways that honor God, you pass.
It is
not enough to have a head full of Bible knowledge. You need to be able to pull out that knowledge from your heart to handle the situation.
"A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of
the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks (Luke 6:45)."
If you make meditating upon God’s word in your heart and acting upon that word daily your highest core value, then you will have good treasure to draw from when a pop quiz arrives.
Instead of reacting from your flesh, you will respond from your heart.
Here are some pop quizzes that every Believer must pass sooner or
later:
1. The Self-Control Test
2. The Honor Test
3. The Courage Test
4. The Obedience test
In the following article, I will share
how some people in the Bible dealt with these tests in certain situations.