“God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”
Patti and I were at The Kentucky Derby over the weekend. This was our 24th year in a row attending together. Each year, Churchill Downs tries to improve the experience, but this year, it didn’t go so well. They attempted to change the way security was done at each entrance and on Friday, the day before the Derby, which brings out almost the same size crowd as Derby Day. But their change in procedures, caused lots of confusion and in some cases up to an hour delay for people to enter. What is kind of hard to understand is why they didn’t test the changes before implementation? Maybe, they can’t because no other attendance crowd gets anywhere close, but still you’d think that all of us should be testing before implementing. Consequently, on Saturday, Derby Day, they reverted to a prior security company (we were told that planes were chartered with people at midnight on Derby Eve) and it was very embarrassing for the organization. There is a reason we test.
God also tests us to make us stronger and to deepen our faith. He knows the power of how we can grow when tested and tempted. When in those times, it is hard to understand and know “why”, but we can recognize that this testing is God’s way of showing us that He continues to love us and bring us closer to Him.
Reference: James 1:12 (New Living Translation)