God Tests Those Who Are His

An important lesson we can learn in becoming disciples is understanding how God molds, shapes, and trains us to be all He wants us to be. It is clearly revealed in the Scriptures that God allows, and sometimes initiates, testing times to uncover deficiencies in our character. Our Father is the Gardener who prunes the deadwood of fleshly habits in our lives so that new life and fruit may emerge (John 15:2). However, not all mishaps in life are God's doing. The Lord is often blamed for earthquakes, tornadoes, and other difficulties faced by humankind. Some events are natural tragedies, while others arise from personal choices and decisions made by each nation or culture. Additionally, some situations are attacks from the enemy to keep us complacent and prevent us from becoming a threat to this evil world system. We cannot explain all things this side of heaven, but let's examine some of those aspects that God allows for our testing:

1Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the LORD promised on oath to your ancestors. 2Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD (Deuteronomy 8:1-3, Emphasis added).

The first thing we notice about this passage is that God led the Israelites into the wilderness, a place of barrenness and dryness. Have you been experiencing a dry season in your life? Then perhaps this meditation is for you. The testing (v. 2) was intended for the Israelites to understand that even though they had been freed from the bondage and slavery of Egypt, the ways of Egypt remained in their hearts. The effects of slavery continued to dominate them. It is similar for the believer in Christ; even though we have been released from Satan’s bondage of sin, our sinful habits can still govern us. The Lord must spiritually awaken us, allowing us to see ourselves as God sees us, truly free from slavery to sin.

As believers in Christ, we are no longer bound to sin through our lips and actions habitually. To walk in victory in our thought life, we need spiritual nourishment from the Word of God to foster our spiritual growth and vitality. God allows tests to awaken us to our complete dependence on Him, the Gardener of our lives. He permits difficulties to prompt people to question where they will spend eternity.

Jesus is the Vine to whom we are to be spiritually connected; we are the fruit-bearing branches, and the Father is the Gardener (John 15). The only way the people of God can produce the fruit of changed character is by having Christ’s life in us, flowing through us. The Church is not an organization but an organism; believers are organically connected to Jesus, the Vine, and the source of life. Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. How much do you value the truth of the Word of God at work in your life? Keith Thomas

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These thoughts are taken from the series on Discipleship; look for study three: The Character of the Disciple