Monday, September 5, 2022
Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24
When Times of Testing Come
All of us have been through times of testing in our lives. As believers we understand that God does not keep all the hard times from us just because we are His children, but rather He allows times of testing in our lives and uses those times to shape our hearts and lives. It never feels good to go through this testing, but it is where God does some of the most important work in our lives.
Life is a series of successes, big moments and great seasons, and then times of testing, where we are required to put our faith to work like never before. It is during these times that we seek God the most and cling to Him with every breath. Satan will take advantage of this time in our lives if we are not careful. He will use this time to plant doubts in our hearts that will cause us to question our faith, God, and His goodness. He loves it when we feel abandoned by God in hard times and wants us to feel like God doesn’t care bout us anymore.
Why does God lead us into a seasons of testing? Usually it is because there is something God is wanting us to learn. Also the parts of our hearts and lives that we have not surrendered will be revealed when we are tested. Forgotten idols surface and we find ourselves yielded to Him and ready to surrender all when testing leaves us empty. When testing comes, we see how useless and devoid of importance and power our idols really are. They mean nothing when we find ourselves open before Him.
What’s in the way of your relationship with the Lord? Is there a forgotten idol, an unsurrendered part of your heart or life that you are having a hard time letting go of? If you can’t see it, ask Him to open your eyes and show you what you cannot see.
Testing is hard. No one really chooses it but it provides an opportunity for us to see what needs to be purged, to find out what is in the way of your relationship with Him. If you are in a time of testing, pray asking God to show you what needs to be revealed and removed. Then see this time as an opportunity to grow in your faith. One of the hardest things about times of testing is that we have no control. We cannot manipulate everything in life and so we must relinquish and trust God to do what only He can do. As we let Him do what He is supposed to do, we can take that time to do some housecleaning in our hearts.
