A good teacher will always give tests. A test shows a teacher, and a student, what has been learned and what needs more attention and teaching.
I’ve been paying closer attention to kind of testing the Lord uses in the life of His child. I can relate to Peter when he told Jesus, “I will never deny you!” (Matthew 26:35) I’ve made commitments and promises to God as He shows me the way I should walk when I am a child of His. “I’ll never…” and “I want to be more…” and “I desire to be obedient in this area…”
“The Lord tests the righteous.” Psalm 11:5 NKJV
As the story goes, Peter did deny Jesus (Matthew 26:69-75). It was a failed test. Jesus already knew what was in Peter’s heart. But Peter didn’t realize what was in Peter’s heart. He needed God to point it out. After the failed test, Peter wept bitterly.
I read about another test in Saul’s life. Do you know who Saul was? He lived hundreds and hundreds of years before Jesus. He comes onto the scene in 1 Samuel when the children of Israel demanded a king. God set them apart from all the other nations; God was already their king. But the people looked at the nations around them and said, “we want to be like them; give us a king!” So God gave them what they asked for–a king. God chose Saul. He was handsome and tall. Outwardly, he was everything the people wanted. But there was one thing missing from Saul’s life. His heart. It was far from God. Saul tried-oh he did try! I believe there was apart of him that wanted to be faithful to God. But we read about Saul’s attempts to lead the people, which were only in partial obedience to God’s instruction (which is disobedience) and self-reliance.
As I read about Saul, I cannot help but think God was testing him. God wanted to prove what kind of a leader Saul would be. In this case, it needed to be proven before God, proven to Saul, and proven to the nation of Israel (who needed to realize that their request wasn’t the best thing for them). God’s rulership over them was perfect because God is perfect. But a human leader, no matter how great a man, would always be humanly flawed.
“For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 NKJV
“Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel—rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.” 1 Peter 3:3-4
The children of Israel are another example of testing. Long before Saul, they had sinned and couldn’t enter the land God had led them out of slavery to give them until 40 years had passed. God told them in Deuteronomy that they had been led in the desert for 40 years (after their rebellious hearts wanted to return to Egypt) to test them. They told God, “we’re sorry we sinned!” (Numbers 14:40). God needed to prove if their hearts were genuine.
“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.” Deuteronomy 8:2 NKJV
As I look at my life, I believe the Lord wants to reveal what’s in my heart. He needs to show me what’s in my heart that isn’t pleasing to Him, so that He can do a work in those areas (yes more than one area!) He often does that through trials and testing.
It’s the person of the heart that He cares about. It’s not just the outward things (our actions, our habits, our words), because what’s on the outside is really just a reflection of what is in our heart. We try to fix the outside, but God is telling us He needs to fix what’s inside first-our heart.
I’m reminded of the verse that demonstrates this truth.
“For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” Matthew 12:34 NIV
After Saul failed his test, God told him that he would no longer be king, and that God was going to use a man after His own heart instead of Saul (1 Samuel 13:14). It was probably crushing to Saul to have the God of heaven tell Saul that he didn’t fit this requirement; that he wasn’t a man after God’s own heart. The amazing thing is that our God is a God of second chances (and third and fourth and fifth… and one hundredth). When God places a testing before us, to see what is in our heart, and we fail, it’s an opportunity for God to receive glory through our response. We have two choices. Keep going our own way, or turn and seek Him. He offers unlimited forgiveness. It’s his nature. He himself provided the final sacrifice for sin through Jesus. When we keep going our own way, our hearts become hard. But when God is allowed to fix what’s broken, to restore an area of sin, the result is beautiful. It’s God’s work. He’s the restorer, He’s the fixer. You don’t have to fix what’s broken on your own. You just have to come to Him, on your knees in humility, admitting sin, asking Him to forgive it, and seeking that He make you whole.
Don’t forget that true repentance is turning away from sin; walking in another direction. It starts with an inward change that is reflected by outward behavior.
As you reflect on the last few hours, days, weeks, months or years of your life, you can probably identify areas you were tested (big and small). James tells us that trials in our life are a testing of our faith, which produces in us a life that is complete, not lacking anything (James 1:2-4). Take time to talk to God about those areas. Bring them before His council and allow him to finish any work he’s started. He desires your heart–your whole heart!
“As a face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the real person.” Proverbs 27:19 NIV
Are you a reflection of a heart yielding to the lessons God is teaching you? Are you recognizing the testing that follows, so that your heart can be proven?
