Benescke Janse van Rensburg

Athletic Olympic champ in the 400m for men, Wayde van Niekerk, recently inspired youngsters during his motivational talk in Bloemfontein. He shared with them that he was tempted to withdraw from many races due to the pressure beforehand. Because he didn’t, he learned the skill to face his fears, which helps him in his career. He specifically encouraged parents to systematically expose their children to pressure situations while they were growing up, as he believes it teaches them skills and also enables them to deal better with pressure in their lives.

God does the same in our lives. He will never use us as an important instrument in His plan or put us in a situation of influence, if He did not first test our character to see if we would be able to sustain the pressure. God also exposes us systematically to pressure to strengthen us.

We see it in Abraham's life. God asked Abraham to leave his family and go to an unknown country. Hereafter Abraham and Sarah waited for a very long time to have their promised child. And to make it even worse, God asked him to go and sacrifice Isaac. Because Abraham was obedient every time, he passed the character test and his inheritance was great. Joseph also had to pass a few tests in his life. After his brothers sold him into slavery, Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce him. He ran away from her instead of sinning. In jail, Joseph also passed the test not to become negative, but to stand firm in his faith. Due to this, God promoted him in one day from prisoner to second in command in Egypt.

Sometimes the giants in our lives (financial pressure, relationship pressure, job pressure, challenges with our children) stand in front of us. At times they breathe into our necks and it paralyzes us with fear. We should never forget that God walks through the valley of the shadow of death and that He never forsakes us.

In 1 Corinthians 10:13 we read: “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." And in Romans 5: 3-5, Paul writes, “More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

Difficult situations form our character. It even helps us to really discover who God is. Let’s never forget that He strengthens us and protects us in the most difficult seasons of our lives. Let’s also pass the character tests when we, much like Wayde, face the temptation to withdraw instead of facing a fearful situation. We might just, like Abraham and Joseph, also experience God in a spectacular way in our lives. God bless.

Father God, thank you for loving me. Help me to pass the character tests and stay obedient at all times. I ask this in the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

• Assignment for the day: Think about some of the difficult seasons of your life. How did it form your character? Thank God for that.

• Feedback: Share your testimony of God's breakthroughs in your life or give feedback at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. I would like to hear from you. Benescke