Life is full of challenges and tests, all for the purpose of measuring the man. In school, tests are relatively straightforward and one can judge their success or lack thereof, by simply looking at their score or their grade. In the workplace, tests are held every day, in regards to the work processed and accomplished on behalf of the company that employs you. In life, so too there are tests, on all sorts of levels, for all sorts of things, no matter whether you think so or not, to which these tests in aggregate prove the results of a given man through the trials and tribulations that make up all of life.
Our words that we profess to God are not enough to convince God that we are sincere in what we voice, instead we read in Exodus 16:4 during the journey of the children of Israel: "…that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not." God knows that it is in our everyday deeds, proved out over longer periods of time, with challenges, setbacks, lessons learned and lessons lost, that summarize the growth or lack thereof in our lives. It isn't good enough to simply state to God or to a close friend, that you have conquered your temper, or your lust, or your greed, these statements have a minute amount of validity to them, until they are truly tested thoroughly by the very hand of God.
There are way too many people that wrongly believe that the best days of their lives are days in which there is no conflict, no mountains or obstacles to climb or to avoid, but simply a day spent in quiet contemplation, serene and at peace. While there is indeed something to be said and to praise about days spent in tranquil meditation that is though and never has been the primary purpose for living. To be in this world, is to face and to challenge this world, for better or for worse, recognizing that the fate that lies ahead for us, is primarily determined by how we react and deal with the fortunes and misfortunes of life and its vicissitudes.
God must test you, for how else will He know the true nature of your character; as well as how will you as a person, know yourself, and what you are made of. These tests, whether welcomed or not, will come to you, as you cannot run away from your destiny, for like Jonah of Biblical lore, you will find out that in the end, you will have to face yourself and your purpose for being, with our without the aid of a great fish.
Each and every day, you are faced with decisions, some great and some small, but as a whole, it is these decisions that define you as a human being. Today, and every day, at every moment in the day, you can consciously determine what is that you will or won't do and then be about it. These decisions most definitely matter, for it is you that captains your own ship. God will help you, good friends can assist and guide you, but the steering wheel is in your own hands, and those that set their sights on the Northern Star will find that their travails often end quite satisfactorily.