Does God Test Us?
On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.
-- 1 Thessalonians 2:4
How does God test us? And why does He when He knows our hearts anyway? Good questions and ones that come up recently during a discussion on 1 Thessalonians.
We all remember Job and the suffering God allowed. It's easy to wonder sometimes if God is allowing us to suffer in the same way or if there is some purpose to it all. Or, maybe, it's all because we live in a fallen world and bad things happen. People get sick and die. Car wrecks claim young lives. Job layoffs happen. Marriages fall apart. Drugs destroy lives. I could go on and on.
I don't believe that God allows evil into our lives. We live in a fallen world so evil is all around us. Such a simple statement with such devastating consequences. We have a sin nature and we sin each and every day. All of us. It could be a wrong thought, a rude comment, a failure to help someone. Whatever it is, none of us are perfect.
God gave His Son so that we could be forgiven. Jesus Christ was and is the perfect sacrifice so that we could be restored to relationship with God. That's how much God loves us. He doesn't want bad for us. He wants to give us hope and a future.
So what's the deal about the tests? God wants a relationship with us. He wants our hearts turned toward Him at all times. We are all tested. How many times each day do we make choices to either do the right thing or the easy thing? How often do we skirt the truth rather than risk ourselves? How often do we worry even though Jesus said clearly not to?
We get so caught up in ourselves, in our lives, that we lose focus of the One who has all the answers. Those tests, if that's what we call them, are to keep us focused on Him.
Please don't misunderstand what I am saying. I have a dear friend whose granddaughter was recently diagnosed with a serious illness. This will negatively impact her life for years and years to come. This isn't a test from God. It is just an awful thing that happened because of our fallen world.
A local company today announced another 56 layoffs, with more to come. This isn't a test from God. It is an awful byproduct of decisions made for financial reasons and not people reasons.
That said, how do we handle life's disasters? Do we turn toward God or away from Him? Maybe that is the test. God always remains faithful to us. Do we remain faithful to Him? Sometimes. Sometimes.
Have you ever been at a crossroads and didn't know what to do or which way to go? Most of us have at some point or another. Is it a test? Maybe the influences of the culture around us, a culture that seeks money and fame over goodness and charity?
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will. -- Romans 8:26-27
Oh, there's that word again. Heart. God looks at our hearts. He knows we make mistakes. We doubt. We worry. We fall down again and again. But He wants to know that we're trying to be like Him. We're attempting to be good and to show mercy and to forgive and to be kind. He knows that not from our actions but from our hearts. God wants our hearts to seek Him always.
Bad things will happen to us and to those we love. They just will. But we have God's promise that one day there will be no more tears and no more sorrow. In the meantime, we have another promise to hold on to.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. -- Romans 8:28
No matter what happens, God will turn it to good if we let Him. It's why a dear friend gives praise for her lung cancer -- because it deepened her faith and showed her what was truly important. Good from bad. Light from darkness.
So don't worry about tests and failures and other such things we can't control. Stay focused on the One who has the answers. Find shelter in His arms. Surround yourself with His peace. He's got this, whatever this might be.
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