Anything that has value has proved itself.  A Navy Seal given elite responsibilities has to go through a proving ground of training.  A teacher in a middle school has to go through the proving ground of a college education and even harder in the classroom.  And a disciple too will also go through a proving time of trials.

It’s not trials that are meant to destroy our faith, but trials meant to reveal our faith.

Trials by their nature are not fun and are meant to see if we will stay or we will run.  Sometimes we don’t pass trials the first round (just ask Abraham).  But by grace God often gives us tests again.

Timothy proved himself (Php 2:22).  I don’t know what all he did or went through but his love and his work for Jesus was “proven” in such a way that all saw it.

Sometimes in life we have trials and God doesn’t come running to the rescue.  He didn’t for Mary and Martha when Lazarus died and sometimes he doesn’t always come running for us.  But the question of our faith is, will we still believe God is good when he doesn’t come running?

Sometimes these things are matters of a proving ground.