Is God Testing You?
“And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth [tests per the concordance]you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” Deut. 13:2-3 underlining added
“I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:2-3 (the first commandment)underlining added
“And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” Deuteronomy 6:5 underlining added
We throw the words around. God’s testing me. I’m going through a test. Why doesn’t God give me a break? Why does He keep testing me? Does God really test us? What exactly is He testing? Ever thought about this?
Yes, God tests us! The Bible from start to finish is full of examples of God testing His Creation. He tests individuals and whole nations. Some pass. Some fail. What is He testing? A teacher teaches lessons and application of those lessons, and then tests students on the lessons and application. God teaches humanity His ways, and then tests humanity on His ways and application of them. God teaches us His ways by His Spirit through His Word and then tests us. There is one area in every human’s life in which He tests us more than any other. This is the most important area of testing for all of humanity.
His greatest command is for us to love Him with all our hearts, and to have no other gods before Him who is the one true God. In Deuteronomy 13:2-3, He tests the people to see whether they will love Him and Him alone, or whether they will be drawn away by false prophets to serve other gods. In good times and in hard times, God tests us to see whether we will faithfully love and serve Him and Him alone, or whether we will be lured away to bow down before, love and serve other gods instead. He tests our very love for Him. Saying we believe in Him and love Him is NOT ENOUGH. Our words, thoughts, decisions and actions will prove whether we really do! No matter how easy our lives or seemingly insurmountable our challenges, we are commanded by God to be faithful and steadfast in our love for Him and commitment to His ways.
Is your life, in good times and hard times, proof of your love for Him?