by Terry Wane Benton<\/p>\n
“I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings<\/em>” (Jeremiah 17:10).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The sum of all our good and bad experiences in this testing ground called life is, in fact, a test of mindset or character. What will be the nature and quality of your inward self? Developing qualities like thankfulness, contentment, dedication, durability, purity of principle, and values are all worked into us by means of tests, hurdles, obstacles, challenges, and forces to work against because exercise calls for working against resistance. Resistance tests the muscles of the mind and will. If everything were easy, flowing along with no difficulty or resistance, we would be weaker, not stronger. Character is not built.<\/p>\n
When the will is tested and the choice holds firm, the testing is what makes the character shine brighter. Learning to “give thanks in everything” (pleasant and unpleasant) shows a gold quality of spirit and heart. I learned from my stroke paralyzed grandmother that being thankful for even the small things like shelling peas and butterbeans with one useful hand and laughing at small moments of humor was far better than moping around feeling sorry for yourself. It was her test and she chose to use it for the glory of God in her character. She could not form words anymore, but her attitude spoke volumes. Stepping up or whimpering before a challenge is a choice, plain and simple.<\/p>\n
Let the trying of your faith work for <\/b>faith-building or let it be our excuse to quit! Either way, good or bad, we pass the test or fail it according to what we choose to put into the test. Am I a soldier of the cross who has no cross I am willing to bear? This is a basic training ground! How are we doing in this boot-camp world?<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Terry Wane Benton “I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings” (Jeremiah 17:10). The sum of all our good and bad experiences in this testing ground called life is, in fact, a test of mindset or…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[1242,97],"class_list":["post-64257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-character","tag-thoughts"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":55470,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/character-the-essential-quality-of-leadership\/","url_meta":{"origin":64257,"position":0},"title":"Character: The Essential Quality of Leadership","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 4, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jim Deason via The Jackson Drive Reporter, Nov. 15, 2009 He saw it happen but somehow it didn't register in his mind. The peanut butter was in the cart, but somehow it never made it to the conveyor belt that carried it by the cashier. The bag boy just\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/11\/peanutButter.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":95274,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-versus-other-religious-writings\/","url_meta":{"origin":64257,"position":1},"title":"Bible versus Other Religious Writings","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 26, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton There are two ways to test the validity of a book's claims about itself. There is the external test, which considers the historical accuracy and archeological evidence in its favor.\u00a0Then there is the internal test, which considers prophetic accuracy, unity, harmony, and unusual marks of foreknowledge\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":89411,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/materialistic-naturalism-is-there-anything-beyond\/","url_meta":{"origin":64257,"position":2},"title":"Materialistic Naturalism: Is There Anything Beyond?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 13, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Many are those today who sincerely believe that only the things we see and observe now with our senses are real. They won't allow for God and angels or demons unless they can test them with the \"scientific method,\" which just so happens to be limited\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24884,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-prophecy-continue-because-revelation-was-written-after-i-corinthians\/","url_meta":{"origin":64257,"position":3},"title":"Does prophecy continue because Revelation was written after I Corinthians?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 18, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi Jeff, I hope you have been doing well. Recently I've been particularly confused about visions or prophetic dreams. I've been hearing a lot about people claiming to have had 'visions' or dreams of the Rapture or coming day of Judgement, and many of them, in particular, have been\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":85243,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-joseph-smith-jr-a-prophet-of-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":64257,"position":4},"title":"Was Joseph Smith, Jr., a Prophet of God?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 2, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Dudley Ross Spears via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 16 No. 1, March 31, 1990 Joseph Smith Jr. was an amazing American who claimed to be a true prophet of God. Millions of people worldwide believed his claim, which resulted in one of the largest religious bodies in existence. Everyone should\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":45711,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/on-drifting-away-from-the-faith\/","url_meta":{"origin":64257,"position":5},"title":"On Drifting Away from the Faith","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 26, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton If we surveyed churches that declined in attendance because of COVID, we may find an alarming number of brethren who fell or are in process of drifting further away. 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