"Lord, are these things placed in front of me a test of my faith, or are these things being placed in my path things of the devil trying to reclaim someone who is trying hard to pull away from his grasp?"
As Hillary Clinton once so famously stated, "At this point, what difference does it make?"
This has been on my mind the last few days and has caused me to have a couple of sleepless nights as I lie in bed thinking about the trials which have been placed in front of me the past few months. Life as I have known it has turned completely upside down in such a short time. As I began questioning my faith, asking, "Why is God allowing this to happen," I realized that he was already reaffirming my faith just by me questioning faith. If I didn't have faith in God I would have just pushed it aside and walked away as I did in the past. Instead I was praying and asking for guidance.
As most women will attest, us men refuse to look at the instruction manual when we're attempting to do something. "Don't worry, I've got this. I'll figure it out." We do it all the time. Same thing with me. "I can figure this out on my own." After a couple of nights of trying to figure out if this was God or the devil I finally decided to look at the instruction manual. Did you know God gave us a manual? It's called the Bible. I opened it up and started trying to find what I needed to know. Is there a difference? Would God test me? Why? The answers are in the instruction manual. I remember in school how I dreaded tests but when we were told it was an "open book" test my mind eased. God may give us those tests but he has provided the textbook and told us to "go ahead and look it up. These tests I give will always be open book tests."
My questions were answered as I started looking. It's a pretty simple concept, God tests us, the devil tempts us. Easy huh? As I started to look for the answers I was returned over and over to James 1:13) When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14) but each person is dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.
Evil desires and temptations or enticements. Been there, done that, got the tee-shirt. Several of them in fact. Life is still a struggle for each of us to fight those things of the flesh that seem to pull at us. When we look to God and ask him to help us it becomes easier to look the other way and walk away. Keep in mind that God will not tempt us with sin because He is good and no evil is found in Him.
Temptation, enticement. They are both pretty easy to understand as they are put in our paths to arouse our hopes or desires through promises of pleasure or gain.
Am I saying that God wants us to live in misery and not enjoy our life while here on earth? No I'm saying that God wants us to live a joyful life by being one with him. Happiness is fleeting, joy is not. God wants us to live in Joy through him. Hebrews 11:25 tells us that happiness found through sinful things lasts for only a season. So why go there when we can have joy that will last us a lifetime?
Okay, what have I learned so far? I have learned that Satan is the one who places temptations and enticements in our paths. Now it's time to move on to the real questions. Does God test us and if so why?
The Bible spells this out pretty clearly if we take the time to look. God will test us as we saw from the beginning of the Bible. In Genesis Chapter 22 he gave Abraham the ultimate test by telling him to take his only son, Isaac to Moriah and sacrifice him as a burnt offering. He tested Abraham in a way we could not imagine. Could I have this much faith? Next we see God test Moses and his followers as they were led from Egypt in the Book of Exodus. They were tested for forty years. Some tests they failed as they questioned both God and Moses but he is a forgiving God. At times they had to be punished, as we would our wayward children, but he continued loving them and pushing them to be better and deserving of what lay ahead.
Now we know that God tests each of us. So why? Look at it from your own point of view. Don't you test your children, almost from birth? Something as simple as letting go so they can take that first step is a test. You have your arms out to catch them, as the Lord does with us, but you know they can't learn unless you let go. God does this to each of us. He has his arms out to catch us but he has to see if we're willing to take those first steps. Each of his tests allows us to taste victory. He has faith in us that we will do the right thing and win. As we pass each test it allows us to walk closer to God and let's us take on even more challenges and responsibilities, more than we ever thought possible. We don't always know what those new responsibilities are going to be, but He does and is trusting us to make the right decisions to further His glory.
These last couple of days has shown me that it is not necessarily the test that makes me stronger and more determined but is is the Word of God and following his Law that helps me through the test. As I said earlier, he has provided us with an instruction manual called the Bible. All we have to do is search for what we need and the answer will be provided.
This day of technology we live in can be a curse or a blessing according to how you choose to use it. I try to think of it as a blessing as I now have my instruction manual with me at all times. I have the Bible downloaded onto my phone, my Kindle, and my computer. It is always with me.
Today, I will rest easier. I know my trials are only beginning, but I know I can put it in God's hands and he will lead me. I can be reassured that God's got this. I can relax.
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