On being tested by praise...

heh heh, my friend sent me this in an e-mail. Found it to be encouraging. May you be blessed by this too~
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Tested By Praise

The longer and closer we walk with God, the more we realize how He uses
every opportunity to shape and mold us - to chip, file, and sand the rough
edges - as we are gradually "conformed to the likeness of His Son" (Romans
8:29). This is His desire for everyone who trusts in Jesus for the
forgiveness of sin.

We often learn through personal experience how our trials are used to teach
us valuable lessons and refine us into Children of God with the character
of Christ; "the testing of your faith develops perseverance" (James
1:3). Our trials teach us to persevere in the faith and to trust God with
all our heart. But a more subtle refinement of our character occurs as we
receive praise for who we are or for what we've accomplished.

Proverbs 27:21
"The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but man is tested by the
praise he receives."

This isn't referring to how we verbally respond to a compliment; rather,
the reaction of our heart reveals our true belief and submission. God is
the sovereign Creator and Lord of ALL! All our abilities and gifts were
given by Him. He deserves ALL the praise and maintains the right to
redirect us as He chooses. Our motivation must be our love for God and our
desire to serve Him through all we do - it must never be driven by the
praises of man.

The praise we receive from others is not an indication of God's approval
nor a valid measure of success. We take far too much ownership of
accomplishments and most often we simply forget: "For who makes you
different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive?" (1
Corinthians 4:7).

Every step of our journey must be established by God and accomplished in
His strength. Every day there are those who refuse to turn to God because
they fear the loss of status and praise; "they would not confess their
faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved
praise from men more than praise from God" (John 12:42-43). And every day
there are those who are diverted in their walk because of a gluttonous
desire to feed their pride-filled ego. Unrestrained pride will always
choke our relationship with Jesus.

As we are transformed, we WILL begin to accomplish His work; "we are God's
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works" (Ephesians
2:10). But as praises come for the work we accomplish, we must present
them to God for His approval and guidance. He may return the praise as a
Heavenly blessing, but He may also dismiss it as an unnecessary distraction
and ask us to walk in a new direction. Either way, we must continue to
serve with an obedient and loving heart. We must be determined to never
lose our focus as a result of being refined and tested by praise.

Have a Christ Centered Day!

Steve Troxel
God's Daily Word Ministries

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