Author Steven Lake
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| Why Test Us If God Knows All? Sunday, July 6th, 2014 1:57am Keywords: (None) |
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| One of the things I've been pondering of late is why God tells us to do something, and then "tests us to see what we'll do." If God knows everything what purpose does His testing have? He already knows what we'll do before we do it. So what's the purpose of our testing? Well, let's ask the bible for some input on this. Deut 8:2-3 (NIV) - "Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you... to teach you that man does not live by bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord." Ex 20:20 (NIV) - "Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning." Hmm, testing to create humility and a desire to avoid sin? That sure doesn't sound like the kind of testing we think about. When we think of it, we envision the scientific method, or some similar process that produces an answer through observation by performing a test. But since God knows all He clear doesn't need to learn anything. So again, why would God test us if He doesn't need to learn anything about us? What if our testing isn't to reveal what's in our hearts to God, but rather to ourselves? Case in point. A number of years back I ran a Linux tech site for new users. In the short three years the site ran a LOT happened. We grew from nothing to one of the top ten Linux tech sites on the web. In the process of this my heart grew prideful. But I didn't realize that because I couldn't see it since nothing up to that date had revealed it to me. Then one day one of my friends, a fellow author, and I were trying to get spots as guest authors at Penguicon, a type of Linux/Writing/Fantasy convention held in Detroit. I got approved but he was outright rejected for reasons they wouldn't state. I got really mad about this and started rehearsing in my head, like I tend to do, what I would say when I got my chance to talk with them. In the process of rehearsing this I imagined myself standing in front of the head honcho of the event chewing him out for the way he'd treated my friend. The real tipping though was when the words, "Do you know who I am?" came out of my mouth. They'd no more than cleared my lips when I realized what I'd just said. The idea of such words being able to come from my lips was unthinkable to me. Yet God knew they were there. He'd used that experience, that so called gigantic affront to my friend's honor to bring that out and reveal to me that I had become full of pride. It immediately set me in motion to get away from all the things that were causing that pride to grow and prosper in me. Within three short months I got rid of my tech site, stepped out of the tech world, and backed away from quite a few other things I'd been doing in order to make the first step in eradicating that problem of pride I had within me. But that's only one example of how God's testing (aka, trials, suffering, persecution, difficulties, losses, etc) was used to change me for the better. And He WILL always try to seek your betterment if you are His child. Hence the trials and tribulations in your life. However, not all are there to reveal sins. Again, case in point from my own life. I've on many occasions seen God tell me to do something, to change a thing in my life. If I was obedient in doing that, then God would move on my behalf and see to it that a certain something happened. But was it because I had to prove to Him that I would do it, or was it to train me to do that thing I was asked? Would it shock you to know that it was the latter? Yes, God often tests us not because He needs to know what's in our hearts, but to prove to us what's there. He also does it to make new habits within us. So basically when He says, "if you will do this and this and prove yourself faithful I will do this." It's not "if you do this I'll give you this." Think of it like this. God is trying to make you change for the better, but since He won't go against your will, He'll use what essentially amounts to a carrot and string method to get you to move. He wants the best for you, and that testing is what will create that within you. It will change bad habits, reinforce good ones, and push you onto the path you should be going. God loves you and wants only the best for you. But sometimes the only way we'll move is if He makes it more painful for us to remain where we are than to go where He wants us. Consider that the next time God tests you. |
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