The Bible repeatedly says that God has promised to meet your needs: “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19 NIV).

But the Bible also tells us that with every promise there is a condition. One of the conditions for God’s promise to meet your needs is that you have to trust him. The more you trust God, the more God is able to meet your needs.

So how can you learn to trust God more? You don’t get faith by sitting in a Bible study group or just talking about it. Faith is like a muscle; it develops by being used. The more you use your faith, the more it gets stretched. And the more it gets stretched, the more God is able to bless your life. 

Sometimes God creates circumstances—trials—to stretch our faith: “These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold” (1 Peter 1:7 NLT).

There are four trials—or tests—that God often uses to test our faith. Chances are, you’re in one of these tests right now. When you go through one of these trials, you can know that it is an opportunity for you to develop your faith so you can trust God more. I’ll talk about the first two kinds of tests today and the next two tomorrow.

1. The Pressure Test
The pressure test asks, “How will you handle stress?” Will you depend on yourself, or will you depend on God? Psalm 50:15 says, “Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me” (NIV). When you’re in trouble, do you turn to God or to other things?

2. The People Test
God often uses people to test and stretch and develop your faith. This test asks, “How will you handle disappointment?” Life is often disappointing. Careers and marriages don’t turn out the way we planned them. But the most disappointing thing in life is people. People disappoint us when we expect them to meet a need that only God himself can meet. In other words, the people in your life aren’t actually your problem. The problem is your response to those people. People also aren’t the answer to your problem. The answer is God. When you expect other people to be your savior, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. 

Jeremiah 17:7 says, “Blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence” (NLT). What happens if you trust in the Lord? Look at God’s promise in Isaiah 49:23: “Those who hope in me will not be disappointed” (NIV).