Testing vs. Trusting
Recently, I came across something that really piqued my interest and decided to look into it more. It came from a plan in the Bible app, and it said, "...the church need not test God..." and I thought about it and wondered why we, as a body of believers, should not test God, or if we're even allowed to test the Lord. I found that the Bible is actually very clear regarding this, "You shall not tempt the Lord your God as you tempted Him in Massah" (Deuteronomy 6:16, NKJV). The words "tempt" and "tempted" here can also be read as "test" and "tested," which is interesting because the two words have slightly different meanings, but in the context of this verse, both are correct. So, here, in the general context of the verse, the Israelites just received the ten commandments (Deut. 5), and now they are cautioned against disobedience. There is the mention of Massah, which is when Moses struck the rock for the Israelites to be able to drink some water after crossing the Red Sea and and receiving bread from Heaven (Ex. 17:1-7; Ex. 14; Ex. 16). Throughout history, the Israelites had a lot of instances where they either forgot the goodness of God or didn't trust Him or forgot His faithfulness, and as a result, they felt the need to rebel and test/tempt Him regarding the things they needed. But God is so much bigger than that because He saw all of their needs and always pulled them through just when all hope was lost. Psalm 78 and 95 are psalms that talk about the faithfulness of God despite the Israelites' rebellion towards Him. But, God also waited for 40 years while they were in the desert because of their rebellion (Psalm 95:10). In fact, God was grieved because of their rebellion. Time and time again, every time the Israelites lost sight of who God is and what He has done for them, they would begin to question Him and rebel against Him, testing Him. This shows some kind of lack of trust in Him and faith in His word.
There are other situations in the Bible where people did the testing, and for the most part, there was not a good result. In Acts 5, Sapphira and her husband, Ananias, fell dead when they tested the Holy Spirit and were greedy in keeping the money after selling their possessions instead of giving it all to share with everyone (See Acts 4:32-511 for full story). Here, Peter questioned Sapphira, and before she even had a chance to answer, she fell dead (Acts 5:10). In the Gospels, there are countless times when the Pharisees and Herodians really tested Yeshua in order to try to trick Him and then using His words against Him. However, Yeshua sensed their malicious intents, and never gave in to the testing. In fact, He even called them hypocrites for trying to act like their intentions were pure. In Matthew 22, they asked Him regarding taxes and whether or not it should be paid, and He answered in a way that they could not ask another question at that time. Here, Yeshua changed the word from 'pay' to 'render,' which means to 'pay back.' However, the way the question was asked and why it was asked resulted in a simple statement that left them astounded (See Matthew 22:15-22). In both of these situations, the people did not get what they wanted after testing either the Holy Spirit or testing Yeshua.
The Israelites continuously focused on what they didn't have and how much they needed it, instead of accepting God's plan and will for their lives and trusting that all their needs would be met. Imagine how much quicker they could have gotten to the Promised Land if they had only remembered His faithfulness, and trusted in His promises. The Pharisees and Herodians didn't receive the answer they were looking for, since they were looking for Yeshua to take one side over the other; however, Yeshua, in His wisdom, knew better and gave them an unexpected answer and they went on their way. Sometimes, we ask God or test Him with a question we really don't have a right to ask. Trust in His goodness and that everything will work out for your good, instead. Sapphira and Ananias could have been game changers in the early church had they been selfless with their money and material things. God could have used them tremendously if they were faithful and trusted that they would have enough to go around. Who knows, maybe they could have had more money and material things if they were willing to share their profits. In all three situations, people hurt God by testing Him and questioning His ways and trying to do something for themselves, for their own benefit. But, God is bigger, He has better plans and we should learn to trust Him through it all.
I encourage you to give it all to Him and watch how your life will change for the better the more you trust Him. Try to stay away from grieving Him with questions that won't do any good, and accept that His plan and will for your life is way better than you could ever imagine. He loves you, and He also wants the very best for you.
Stay blessed, my friends.
There are other situations in the Bible where people did the testing, and for the most part, there was not a good result. In Acts 5, Sapphira and her husband, Ananias, fell dead when they tested the Holy Spirit and were greedy in keeping the money after selling their possessions instead of giving it all to share with everyone (See Acts 4:32-511 for full story). Here, Peter questioned Sapphira, and before she even had a chance to answer, she fell dead (Acts 5:10). In the Gospels, there are countless times when the Pharisees and Herodians really tested Yeshua in order to try to trick Him and then using His words against Him. However, Yeshua sensed their malicious intents, and never gave in to the testing. In fact, He even called them hypocrites for trying to act like their intentions were pure. In Matthew 22, they asked Him regarding taxes and whether or not it should be paid, and He answered in a way that they could not ask another question at that time. Here, Yeshua changed the word from 'pay' to 'render,' which means to 'pay back.' However, the way the question was asked and why it was asked resulted in a simple statement that left them astounded (See Matthew 22:15-22). In both of these situations, the people did not get what they wanted after testing either the Holy Spirit or testing Yeshua.
The Israelites continuously focused on what they didn't have and how much they needed it, instead of accepting God's plan and will for their lives and trusting that all their needs would be met. Imagine how much quicker they could have gotten to the Promised Land if they had only remembered His faithfulness, and trusted in His promises. The Pharisees and Herodians didn't receive the answer they were looking for, since they were looking for Yeshua to take one side over the other; however, Yeshua, in His wisdom, knew better and gave them an unexpected answer and they went on their way. Sometimes, we ask God or test Him with a question we really don't have a right to ask. Trust in His goodness and that everything will work out for your good, instead. Sapphira and Ananias could have been game changers in the early church had they been selfless with their money and material things. God could have used them tremendously if they were faithful and trusted that they would have enough to go around. Who knows, maybe they could have had more money and material things if they were willing to share their profits. In all three situations, people hurt God by testing Him and questioning His ways and trying to do something for themselves, for their own benefit. But, God is bigger, He has better plans and we should learn to trust Him through it all.
I encourage you to give it all to Him and watch how your life will change for the better the more you trust Him. Try to stay away from grieving Him with questions that won't do any good, and accept that His plan and will for your life is way better than you could ever imagine. He loves you, and He also wants the very best for you.
Don't try to fix something by yourself that God already has a plan for. Choose His goodness instead.Will you take the leap of faith today, and see how He changes your life for good?
Stay blessed, my friends.
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