Do you pass the test? 10 tests that prove your potential and maturity as a leader
Rod Denton // September 6, 2022, 3:32 pm
"Just as products are not used until they have been tested, so it is with God and the leaders He raises up," writes pastor and leadership consultant Rod Denton. Photo by Jehyun Sung on Unsplash.
If you are like me, you would be reluctant to purchase a product without first of all knowing that it has passed certain tests guaranteeing it will serve the purpose for which it was made.
To do this, we might read the online reviews written by people who have already used the product or we might check with the professionals who make a living out of testing a wide range of products that come onto the market.
God is continually testing us to refine us to approve us and then to entrust us with His great purposes.
Interestingly, there came a time when I became aware of a similar theme in regard to God’s school of leadership in which He tests in various ways those who serve in roles as spiritual leaders (1 Timothy 3:10, 1 Thessalonians 2:4)
Paul, speaking to Timothy on the subject of leadership emergence, said of deacons, “They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.” (1 Timothy 3:10)
Paul picked up this theme when he wrote to the Thessalonians: “We speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.” (1 Thessalonians 2:4)
We see a four step process in the way God tests leaders:
- Tested
- Refined
- Approved
- Entrusted
The often-used word for testing, “dokimazo”, was used to describe the refining of gold and silver that was being heated and melted in a furnace for the purpose of removing all impurities in order that the metal might be proved genuine. Similarly, as we read through the Bible we find that God is similarly in the habit of refining His people. (Job 23:10; Psalm 66:10)
God’s testing is purposeful and revealing, both to God and ourselves.
Just as products are not used until they have been tested, so it is with God and the leaders He raises up.
God’s testing has primarily to do with a person’s heart and level of faith and it often precedes advancement. He is looking for leaders who desire to grow through the experiences of life and are willing to be tested along the way. Consider the life of David.
There is no greater testimony a person may have than to pass the tests of God.
Here are 10 leadership tests that await:
1. The test of small things
This tests our faithfulness in the present and indicates our potential for greater responsibilities in the future. (Luke 16:10, 1 Timothy 1:12)
Biblical example: David
David who had won small victories as a shepherd was then confident of defeating Goliath who had paralysed the whole Israelite army. (1 Samuel 17:34,36)
Leadership principle: No leader who desires to do great things for God will achieve them without first being faithful in doing small things for God and being faithful where they are right now.
2. The motive test: For whose glory?
This test asks: Why am I doing these things? Does it matter if I only have an audience of one? Is God’s glory safe in my hands?
There is no greater testimony a person may have than to pass the tests of God.
“Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before people to be seen by them. If you do you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 6:1)
If I am serving myself, my motive is ego.
If I am serving others, my motive is insecurity.
If I am serving God, my motive is His glory.
Biblical example: Job
Job’s life was a battlefield in which God proved to Satan that His servant Job could love God for who He was, and not for what he could get from God. (Job 1:9,11)
Leadership principle: Why we do something will ultimately determine what we do and how we will do it.
3. The stewardship test
This test reveals whether we live our lives as owners or as stewards of the resources God has entrusted to us – our time, finances, energy, material possessions, our very lives. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Matthew 6:21)
Biblical example: Jesus’ disciples
Luke 5: 10-11
Leadership principle: The ability that God has to use us depends on the availability of our lives that we give to God.
4. The wilderness test
This tests our sense of calling and our faithfulness in times of apparent failure, closed doors, spiritual dryness and discouragement (Matthew 4:1, 2 Chronicles 32:31)
Biblical example: Moses
Exodus 2:11-15. He endured a wilderness experience of 40 years before God called him to lead his people out of Egypt.
Leadership principle: God often takes a leader through a wilderness experience before He grants a leader success. Our leadership path from Egypt to the Promised Land usually passes through the wilderness.
5. The integrity test
This tests whether we will compromise our integrity and values when we are under pressure or when we are on our own (1 Samuel 16:7; 1 Thessalonians 2:10)
Biblical example: Joseph
Genesis 39:6-9
Leadership principle: A leader must always walk in integrity of heart, even when God is our only audience.
6. The authority test
This tests our attitude and willingness to submit to authority (Hebrews 13:7). Submission is the ability to lay down the terrible burden of always needing to get my own way.
Biblical example: David
1 Samuel 24:4-6
Leadership principle: A person must first learn to come under authority before they can be trusted with authority.
7. The rejection test
This tests whether we are easily offended or whether we can maintain a godly attitude in the face of rejection and be willing to forgive others (1 Peter 20:20b-23).
Biblical example: Jesus
- John 1:11
- Matthew 18:21-22
Leadership principle: My attitude determines my ministry. When I lose my attitude, I lose my ministry.
8. Self-leadership test
This tests my ability to lead others; I cannot lead others before I have led myself.
Our leadership path from Egypt to the Promised Land usually passes through the wilderness.
“A leader is a person who has learned to obey a discipline imposed from without, and has then taken on a more rigorous discipline from within. Many who drop out from leadership are sufficiently gifted but have large areas of life floating free from the Holy Spirit’s control. Lazy and disorganised people never rise to true leadership.” (J Oswald Sanders)
Biblical example: Paul
- 1 Corinthians11:1
- 1 Thessalonians 1:5-6
Leadership principle: I can only take others as far as I have taken myself.
9. The waiting-in-faith test
This tests our ability to trust God’s timing in our lives regarding His unfolding promises for us. (Isaiah 30:18; Psalm 37:7; Proverbs 3:5-6)
The person who knows how to wait has grown to an exceptional degree in God’s grace. It is always safe to trust God’s methods and God’s timing.
“Our faith is the centre of the target God aims at when He tests us, and if any gift escapes untested, it will certainly not be our faith.” (CH Spurgeon)
Biblical example: Abraham
- Hebrews 6:13
- Romans 4:19-21
Leadership principle: God can be trusted to fulfil His purposes in my life in His time.
10. The faithfulness test
This test highlights the importance of finishing well. (John 17:4)
The person who knows how to wait has grown to an exceptional degree in God’s grace.
People who finish well:
- Never stop growing
- Maintain a lifetime learning attitude
- Leave behind a legacy
- Have a lifetime perspective and sense of destiny
- Maintain a personal vibrant relationship with God for all their life
- Never stop wanting to know Christ and make Him known
Biblical example: Paul
- Acts 20:24
- 2 Timothy 4:7-8
Leadership principle: Leadership emergence is a lifetime process that results in leaders finishing well.
Refined like gold
God is continually testing us to refine us, approve us and then to entrust us with His great purposes.
Just as top level athletes find themselves undergoing blood tests to ensure that they are drug-free and qualify to compete for their country, so it is that God allows His people to endure different kinds of testing for particular purposes.
“To everyone entrusted with spiritual authority, searching tests are bound to come.” (J Oswald Sanders)
This article was first published on Rod Denton: Equipping The Next Generation and is republished with permission.
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