The Purpose of Trials

Several months ago, I started a scripture word search on the terms "test", "try", "prove", and "refine". Here is a sample of what I found:

Prove: establish the genuineness and validity of...; subject to a testing process; show one's abilities.
"...for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul." Deut.13:3

Refine: to free from impurities or defects; make or become more polished or elegant or cultured; make or become more subtle or delicate in feelings
"And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried; they shall call on my name, and I will hear them; I will say, It is my people; and they shall say, The Lord is my God." Zechariah 13:9

Test: a critical examination or trial of a person/thing's qualities 
(TRY) "Nevertheless the Lord seeth fit to chasten his people; yea he trieth their patience and their faith." Mosiah 23:21

Trial: a process or mode of testing qualities, a preliminary contest to test the abilities of players eligible for selection to a team.
"Beloved, think it not strange concerning the firey trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you; But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers in Christ's sufferings, that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy."
1 Peter 4:12-13

One of the big questions presented in life has to do with injustice. "Why do bad things happen to good people?" I used to believe that keeping the commandments was the safe path, meaning, the way to avoid the most pain and to qualify for the most help with my problems.  I don't  really believe that anymore.  I also used to believe that the test in life was to see if I could keep all the commandments, to endure to the end (without making any major mistakes).  I don't believe that anymore either.  That kind of thinking led to a lot of pain when my "correct" answers did very little to solve the real life problems I was facing.  A closer examination of scripture, such as the sample at the beginning of this post led me to a different concept -- God is providing the circumstances where I can be tried and proved for qualities that can not be demonstrated any other way.  The trial is an opportunity for my heart to be known. When the day of judgment comes, I will be able to look at my life, the fires I faced, and my response to them.  Then I will agree that God's judgment is just.  Here in mortality, I will be tested sufficiently to leave no doubt as to the measure of my spiritual abilities and the appropriate placement in His kingdom.

This idea really hit home this morning in church.  I remembered something Jared told me yesterday that applies to this test of mortality and the trials that we are each involved in.  Earlier in the week, Jared took an Arabic oral proficiency exam.  He was warned ahead of time that the test was designed to push him to the limits of his ability, to prove exactly what he could do and what he knew.  The students were warned that they would leave feeling they had failed, being asked to perform beyond their ability.  Jared, however, found the test rather simple.  He was asked about regular things, like family and daily life.  He felt surprisingly successful as he left the interview.  However, when the scores came out, he was disappointed to be ranked "intermediate-advanced", rather than "advanced-beginning" or "advanced-intermediate", since the program is intended to take the students to an "advanced" language level.  He wished the interviewer had not underestimated him, so that he could have shown what he was really capable of, what he has spent so many months preparing for.  

Fortunately, Jared will have other opportunities to prove himself.  He has worked hard, and continues to work toward his language and other personal goals.  Unlike the final Judgment Day, this test does not determine his future placement and opportunities.  I am grateful for the perspective his experience has given me of the huge disappointment that can come when the test is too easy.  I am again grateful for the trials I have experienced.  I have grown and I have seen where I still need to grow. God is merciful, even as he is just.  I am thankful for opportunities that will leave me without doubt when my "score" is given.  

Just something to think about.