The Upside of Adversity, Chapter 5

Chapter 5 of The Upside of Adversity begins a four chapter section on various tests that the author says we must pass along the way of experiencing adversity, and tests that he personally encountered and endured in his 7 year season of difficulty. The chapter title is Test No. 1: The Judas Test, which is about being rejected and betrayed. Here are some things that stuck out to me in this chapter.

“Its hard to to become bitter when a friend or family member wounds us. It takes a lot of Christlike grace to forgive a traitor. Yet God is watching to see how we respond to the Judas Test. If we pass the test, He can then take us to the next level, the next test. If we fail, we’ll probably have to repeat the test until we learn to forgive.”

The Judas Test is God’s graduate-level course in faith, designed to reveal the truth about ourselves: Are we willing to trust Him enough to forgive the Judases in our lives? 

“We cannot love and forgive our enemies in our own strength. This level of love requires graduate-level grace. God seeks to move us from one level to the next as He trains us and prepares us for greater use in His kingdom. He will not elevate us if there is any root of bitterness in our lives.”

“When we give up our rights and our resentment and allow God to work as He sees fit, our weakness becomes our strength.”

The Judas Test is not about getting the results we want. It’s about proving that we trust God enough to forgive our Judases.