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Testing Reveals Our Heart!!!

Do you know that God allows us to suffer difficulties and hardships for a purpose? Think about it, God led the nation of Israel through the wilderness for forty years in order to humble them and test them. When they refused to obey Him and enter the Promised Land, they revealed that they did not really know Him. If they had, they would have had more faith. God spent the next forty years testing the hearts of His people to see if they were prepared for His next assignment.

"And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord." Deuteronomy 8:2-3.

Testing reveals what is in our hearts and produces a robust faith. God allowed His people to hunger so they could experience His provision and develop a deeper level of trust in Him. As the people walked with God, they came to understand that their lives depended upon His Word. They learned that God's Word was the most important thing they had. After depending upon God for forty years while wondering in the wilderness, the people learned to listen when God spoke, and they believed! When they finally entered the Promised Land and waged war against their enemies, the Israelites knew that God's Word meant life and death. They were prepared to listen to Him, and as a result He led them to an astounding victory.

What about us? Have we learned to listen to God? Have we learned that His Word's mean life or death? Israel learned to listen to God while they wondered the desert for forty years. How long will it take us to learn to listen to God? Sadly, it might take some of us the rest of our life, and then it will be too late. Is God presently testing you in some area of your life? What has His testing revealed? Some of us will not want to face or admit to our self what has been revealed and that may make us bitter towards God. But we should never have bitterness towards God for He is always right! Have you become bitter toward God because of where He led you? May be you have come to trust Him more as a result of what you have gone through. Whatever the case may be, we need to be prepared to listen to Him, and do what He says. His Word means life or death!

May God Richly Bless You Today!! H Trent!

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