In 2020, President Biden mandated all businesses with more than a hundred people on the payroll to require proof of vaccine or proof of a negative weekly COVID test before employees could return to work. An uproar ensued. A representative in the House quickly introduced a bill to overturn the mandate and it wasn’t long before cases were appearing in the courts.

Even before the onset of COVID, we were already familiar with phrases that begin with the words, “proof of.” On TV crime dramas, the hostage negotiator requires “proof of life.” To drive a car, you need “proof of insurance.” When applying for benefits, people need “proof of residence.” There is also “proof of domicile,” and “proof of citizenship.” In engineering, publishing, and business, there is something called “proof of concept.”

But did you know that God also has a “proof of” requirement—and no court will overturn it. People can to forge a “proof of” card – many have tried – and they might fool me, but they won’t fool God.

What is this “proof of” that God requires? First, let me tell you what it’s not. It is not “proof of church attendance,” as important as the church is. It is not “proof of good works,” though there is an undeniable connection between it and good works. It is not “proof of theological orthodoxy,” nor is it “proof of position” on social issues like abortion, gay rights, and gender.

What then is this proof that God requires? It is “proof of faith”—faith in his Son, the messiah Jesus. Let me give you a few background passages. There is John 8:24, where Jesus says, “…if you do not believe that I am” – and the word “believe” is the verbal form the Greek word translated “faith” in English – “you will indeed die in your sins.” Or, how about Hebrews 11:6: “…without faith it is impossible to please [God].” Or Galatians 2:16: “We know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith.”

Here are some others. John 5:24: Jesus said, “Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life.” Ephesians 2:8: “For by grace you have been saved through faith.” Romans 3:28: “A person is justified by faith.” Romans 11:20: “You stand by faith.” 2 Cor. 5:7: “We walk by faith.” Galatians again: “We … have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law.” There are many others.

We must have faith in God and in his Son Jesus Christ. No passport to the new heaven and new earth will be issued without proof of faith. Without it, there is no citizenship in the kingdom of God. Everything in the spiritual life – and all of life is spiritual – depends on faith.

Let me go further. God wants you to have “proof of faith” for your own sake. He does not want you to be in doubt about him nor does he want you to have doubts about your faith in him. He will work with you to provide you “proof of faith.”

But how do we go about getting it? You’re not going to like the answer to that question. We need to be tested. You were afraid I would say that. Don’t be afraid. God will help us with the test, and that will give us confidence that will make life much better.

No one gets a pass on testing, though some people are tested more often than others. The great ones, it seems to me, get tested most. Listen to what St. Peter says (1 Peter 1:6-9): “In this [God’s protection of his people through faith] you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

Peter says that trials have come so that your faith may be proved genuine. We need to break that down. First, what are these trials he is talking about? The Greek word translated “trials” has a long history. It was used of medical testing, even in ancient times. In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, it was used of trying out armor. In Exodus, we read that the gift of the law (and the manner in which it was given) was a test: Moses told people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you” (Exodus 20:20). How a person responds to God is always a test.

In the New Testament, Jesus used this word in a story about a buyer who took a yoke of oxen out for a trial run. Everyone is tested. God’s commands test us, and so do the devil’s temptations. God does not intend these tests to hurt us any more than the doctor intends to hurt us with an X-Ray. The tests we undergo are meant to reveal the state of our faith, which is critically important. Our survival depends on faith.

In the original language, Peter uses eight words to explain the purpose of testing. The NIV condenses it to just four: “may be proved genuine.” A more literal translation (leaving out the part about the value of faith) might go like this: “that the process of proving your faith should cause you to be approved.” The approval process requires the testing of faith.

Okay. Trials test our faith, but what constitutes a trial? What kinds of things are said to test and prove us in the Bible? And are such tests always grievous?

They are not. One test that most of us would not think of as grievous is being praised. But according to Proverbs 27:21, praise tests a person. Everyone knows that criticism tests us, but who knew that being praised is a test? Yet many people who have stood the test of criticism have failed the test of praise. Praise is especially useful for revealing whether our faith is in God or is in our ourselves.

Money is also a test of faith – both a lack of money and an abundance of it. When we lack what we need – think of the Israelites in the desert – our faith in God gets tested. The Israelites frequently failed that test, which showed up in the test results as complaining and rebellion. But when we trust God at such times, good things happen. And trusting God this time makes trusting him next time easier. Each time we pass a test, we get our “proof of faith” updated and God gets glory.

But it is important to remember what is being tested when we go through trials. It is not your worth. It is not your strength. It’s not your Bible knowledge. It is your faith.

I mentioned that lack of resources tests our faith, but ample resources do too. Many people who pass the lack of resources test fail the ample resources test – the rich young ruler is an example. The proverbist understood this and prayed, “Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God” (Proverbs 30:8-9a). Money, and the lack thereof, is a test of faith.

Let me suggest a few others. Being misunderstood is a test of faith. Jesus endured this painful test repeatedly. Unfair treatment is a test. So is uncertainty about the future. Unanswered questions, including questions about God, are a test of faith. Think of poor John the Baptist, stuck in a prison cell with unanswered questions about Jesus. That was a test of faith.

Health problems bring many of the tests together simultaneously. The money test: Can I afford treatment? Can I afford the time off? Uncertainty: What will happen if I wait? Will it hurt? Will I die? Questions about God: Why is God allowing this? Questions about ourselves: Have I done something wrong? Can I endure this?

Relationship troubles – problems with marriage partners, friends, and parents – also test our faith. The Apostle Paul was tested in this way when his friends deserted him (he tells us about it in 2 Timothy 4:16), but he passed the test.

Many things in everyday life test us. James makes that clear when he connects “trials of many kinds” with “the testing of your faith” (James 1:2-3). The word translated “of many kinds” is literally “many-colored.” Some trials are blue – depressing. Some are red – filled with anger. Some are black – threatening despair. Some are green – promising money and success.

Peter uses that same word, “many-colored,” here and also in chapter 4. There he is describing the grace of God. I find that encouraging. For every color of trial that we face, there is a color of grace to match. For trials that are depressing there is grace that is uplifting. For trials that are full of rage there is the grace that brings peace. For trials that are black with despair, there is the grace of hope. For trials that promise prosperity – at the price of faithfulness – there is the grace of contentment.

God knows the trials we face and has grace ready to help us pass the test. Grace for the trial of illness, the trial of poverty, the trial of wealth, the trial of relational conflict, the trial of uncertainty and disappointment. We can pass every test, but only if we go to God for his grace. Even when the trial comes in the form of doubts about God, the only way to pass it is by going to God. I’ve seen people fail that test, and I’ve seen people pass it.

Look at verse 6 again. Peter says, “now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief.” One of the hardest things about our trials is believing that the grief is only for a little while. It feels like the grief will never end. And, indeed, the situation may continue, but when we trust God the grief does not. I like how Andrew Peterson put it: “The man of all sorrows, he never forgot what sorrow is carried by the hearts that he bought. So, when the questions dissolve into the silence of God. the aching may remain, but the breaking does not.”

The line in verse 6 that the NIV translates as, “you may have had,” is in Greek a parenthetical phrase. A literal translation goes like this: “Now for a little while, if necessary…” That suggests that tests and suffering are not always necessary. Sometimes they are, but at other times they are not. I suspect that most of us have gone through painful trials that could have been avoided had we simply done what we knew to be God’s will.

When Jesus taught us to pray, “Lead us not into temptation,” the word he used is the one translated “trials” here. Every trial contains in itself the temptation to stop trusting God. We ought to pray, “Lead us not into temptation” – into the trial – but how often we lead ourselves into it by ignoring God and his word. No one can avoid testing altogether – even Jesus went through testing, and he never ignored God. But let’s not put ourselves through it unnecessarily.

Perhaps the test you are in right now could have been avoided—perhaps not. But you are in it now and you can pass it! God is ready to give you his many-colored grace. But you will not pass this test on your own because the test is not about how strong or how smart you are on your own—just the opposite. It’s about how connected you are to God by faith. The way to pass this test is not to double down but to look up to our heavenly Father and faithful Savior. We need to go to them: “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

There are two more things we need to know. We need to know that testing not only shows what is true about our faith now, it also purifies our faith for the future. I think verse 7 implies that testing refines our faith—and our faith needs refining! It is full of impurities. We can think we are trusting God when we are really only trusting what people have said about him. We can mistake our feelings for faith, so that when we feel good, we think our faith is strong, and when we feel down, we think our faith is lost. That needs to be refined out of us.

We can also mistake faith in our abilities for faith in God; it is not. Impurities like these need to be removed, and God will do that in as gentle a manner as possible. But we’ll make it harder than it needs to be if we cling to these counterfeits of faith.

We also need to know that there are enormous benefits in passing the test. This is a literal translation of verse 7: “the proven genuineness of your faith results in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” Your faith in Jesus Christ honors God more than building big churches, or preaching great sermons, or going to the mission field, or depriving yourself of something you really want. Trust honors the trusted. When we trust God, especially in hard times – relationship troubles, uncertainty, financial need, health concerns – he is greatly honored.

Trusting him is not easy for us fallen human beings, and we shouldn’t expect it to be, but it is something that we can get better at. Trusting him is our work. When people asked Jesus, “What must we do to do the works of God?” he answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent” (John 6:28-29). Trust is our job. It is the work that most honors God.

But there is more to it than that. Yes, we honor God when we trust him in our relationship troubles, uncertainty, financial need, and health concerns. But he returns the favor. God honors us. It is almost unthinkable, but it is at least part of what Peter had in mind. “These have come so that your faith … may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

It is possible that we – any of us who so chooses but none of us who does not – may hear Jesus Christ himself say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant! …Come and share your master’s happiness!” (Matthew 25:21). Jesus said, “How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?” (John 5:44)—the glory that comes from God! St. Paul wrote, “At that time [he is talking about the judgment] each will receive his praise from God.”

This is astonishing to many of us. The idea of judgment has always frightened us. We have expected only blame. But Father God loves to praise his children. He will bring up things we have long forgotten. “Oh, I loved it that day when you stopped on the interstate to help that old couple from Missouri.” “I was so proud of you when you gave your little sister those beads that you wanted for yourself.” “But Lord, I was only 5 years old.” And he will say, “Yes! Yes! Wasn’t it wonderful?”

The Bible links God’s praise for his children to their trust in him. That means that your trust today will make a difference on Judgment Day. If you will trust God and his son Jesus in your situation – and for some of you that situation is raging at the ramparts of your soul – you will honor and please him. And he won’t forget it. And neither will you.

Trust him. Trust him in this scary, hard, grievous trial. He will not let you down. Our trust is fragile, but his trustworthiness is unbreakable. “The one who trusts in him will never be put to shame” (Romans 9:33; Isa. 28:16). Quite the opposite: the one who trusts in him will receive his praise from God.

Be that one. Let’s help each other be that one. Trust in God is contagious. Be the one who spreads it through our church.