I was listening to a teaching the other day about the tests we go through in life. The gist of the message was everyone goes through tests and trials ((John 16:33). No one gets a free ride or a cushy one. 

However, the victory comes in how we handle the “through” part of the trial. What are we doing while this unwanted hiccup is in our path? It got me to thinking about some of the “throughs” in the Bible.

•    David’s “through” before he became king was Goliath.
•    Moses’ “through” before he led the Israelites out of Egypt was a 40-year residence in the wilderness.
•    Joseph’s “through” before he became the second highest ruler in the land was prison.

These various “throughs” were pretty big and they didn’t go away overnight. However, not one of these people failed to get through their through and…they each got “double for their trouble” as their reward. 

Through The “Through”
When I was in corporate America, I was repeatedly selected to lead or participate in process change projects. (Well, that’s what they were called in the Dark Ages!) As a project manager, it was my job to help the team through the through.

Detailed project plans with milestones were developed. People were assigned certain tasks. Check-in meetings made sure we were accomplishing all we needed. We worked as a team.

When the project was completed, there was some type of reward, whether monetary or an acknowledgement from the “higher ups.” Some projects were easy and we got ‘through’ them fairly quickly. Others were horrendous (can you say Y2K?) and the ‘through’ was far from a walk in the park.

No Lone Rangers
The same holds for our lives. We are faced with many process change projects and it is up to us how we walk through them. For example:

•    Do we go it alone or do we assemble the best team for the job?
•    Do we throw up our hands, hoping for the best or do we have a vision for the end result?
•    Do we ask God for His direction, or do we have our own plans and then ask Him to bless them, or…ask Him to get us out of the mess we created when our plan doesn’t work?

Each of the people mentioned above (and quite frankly, most of the people in the Bible) had one thing in common when faced with their respective “throughs.” They walked through their “through” with God, in prayer and thanksgiving for all He could and would do for them.

Help Is At Hand
For many people facing a big change, it is tempting to put on our respective project manager hats and come up with a plan to get through it. However, a better first step is to ask The Project Manager what to do because His ways are higher than our ways. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9).

I don’t know about you, but I’d prefer to get through my “throughs” with an Expert Project Manager, wouldn’t you? And guess what? We have access to Him because of Jesus. He made the way for us to have direct communication with God, our Father (John 14:6). Woo hoo!

If you have a ‘through’ going on in your life, I want to encourage you to stop what you’re doing and ask God for help. Then…listen for His response. Watch for His hand. And do what you sense He is guiding you to do.

You can handle any “through” life hands you when you do your “through” with God.