1Peter 1:7
That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

Life generally is an examination of faith; whether we like it or not, our faith will be examined/tried/ tested by God.

Why does God examine our faith? You see, God solely operates on faith, He is a faith God. He spoke the universe into existence by faith. Everything about God exhumes faith; faith comes from God through His spoken-word.

To truly please God, you must not only walk and operate in faith, you must increase in faith. The major reason why God examines our faith, is so that we can increase greatly in faith.

You see faith pleases God; God is not moved by begging, crying or moaning, what moves the hand of God is your FAITH. Faith is the ignition key to the power, miracles and blessings of God.
This is why when Jesus was on earth, He laid a lot of emphasis on faith. He often commended faith and rebuked unbelief because He knows its extreme importance to God.

How does God examine our faith? He permits some very difficult, complex or confusing situations in our lives and watches us with keen interest to see if we will trust Him enough to deliver us out.

Many times our faith is examined by God just like the academic examinations we all went/go through in school.
When we were students, we write exams to be tested of our knowledge and to be promoted to a higher class. If we fail an exam, we remain in our present class and have to repeat the examination.

Similarly in the spiritual realm, when our faith is examined by God, and we pass, we move on to the next level of life in the plan of God. The reason many of us are stagnant in life, is simply because we refuse to upgrade or step up our faith levels.

Life is all about increasing faith-God doesn't want us to remain too long as babies in faith just like any parent doesn't want their children to remain as kindergartens for too long.

Imagine a mother feeds her baby dedicatedly for a year, and her child refuses to grow? Well, that's exactly how God feels about our spiritual growth. There are certain blessings and miracles that cannot happen, unless we grow and keep growing in faith.

To attain to the fulness of God's plan and destiny for your life, you must increase in faith, which is why God often permits trials in our lives.

Luke 17:5
And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.

Why did the Apostles pray like this? This is because life is very complex indeed. There are certain things we face in life that can make us quickly lose faith in God. Sadly, many times when our faith is examined in the furnaces of affliction, we see many christians dump the faith and end up worst than unbelievers.

In the scriptures, God examined the faith of 3 people in an extreme way; not because He hated them, but He wanted to do greater things for them through their resultant increased faith in Him:
1. Abraham (Hebrews 11: 17-19)

In Genesis 22, God tested Abraham's faith by asking him to sacriface his son whom he had waited for so, so long even in his old age. Abraham obeyed in great faith and God spared his son and renewed His blessings on Abraham.

2. Job (James 5:11)

Job's faith was examined by God when He permitted tragic loss in his family, wealth and even to his health. At the end Job's faith didn't waver despite the unfair criticisms of his friends and God blessed Job double of what he earlier had!

3. The israelites in the wilderness (1 Corinthians 10:1-11)

After God brought out the people of israel from Egypt, He led them into the barren, dry and difficult wilderness to examine their faith in Him. Unfortunately, the Israelites lost faith in God, failing God's examination. As much as 99 percent of the israelites that left Egypt, perished in the wilderness because they murmured and complained against God.

What do i do when my faith is examined?

1. Read, study and meditate much more on God's Word. God's Word is the ultimate source of faith.

2. Get up at midnight and praise God like Paul and Silas with earth-shaking faith! Faith-filled praise moves mountains!