Monthly Archive for December, 2007

Life is full of tests. When we pass a test, we celebrate because we have proven some progress or achievement.  Since tests cause stress, there must be a good reason for them. They aren’t fun; but they are important. Tests happen when it has become necessary for someone to prove something. So, passing or failing tests prove something about us.           God tests us. Sometimes severely, like Job. “But he knows the way I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold” (Job 23:10). Or Abraham, who was told to offer“Isaac as a sacrifice when God tested him” (Heb 11:17). Or like the people of Israel, “For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs” (Ps 66:10-11). So, what is the purpose of the testing of the Lord? Do we really need it? David understood and wrote, “I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity” (1 Chron 29:17a). The heart is a tricky thing. It is hard to read. Hard to uncover. God knows what tests will uncover the true state of our hearts. “Test me, O God, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth” (Ps 26:2-3). God tests our hearts to reveal to us whether we really love him and his truth (See 2 Thess  2:5-12; Deut. 13:1-5). We need such testing because we can fool ourselves into thinking our hearts love God when they really don’t.

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