Does God Test Us? Yes. But it is always an open-Book test. With the help of God's instruction Book -- the Bible -- we should always pass the test.
1 THESSALONIANS 2:4 NKJ
4 . . . even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts.God tests us so we can experience victory. He walks in faith and believes we will win every test. He is like a proud parent who tells their child to "Go out there and show them what you can do," expecting them to win.
God allows us to enter into faith combat so we can see His deliverance and victory over our adversary. As we are faithful where we are (the test), God will give us a larger sphere of responsibility.
The larger the task ahead -- the bigger the test required now. God does not test us to hurt us or defeat us. He does it because He loves us too much to put us into a position of responsibility which would be too much for us, where we would be put to shame.
In all schooling there is testing to determine whether the material taught has been mastered.
Testing is necessary and beneficial for the one being tested. He may think he is ready to graduate -- that he knows it all. Testing allows him to see what the real situation is. It confronts him with reality.
Tests should be "bread" for us (Numbers 14:7-9). We should grow stronger in faith as we pass each test. The test does not make us strong, but God's Word makes us strong as we use it to overcome the test.
I used to think God does not test us. I reasoned that He knew what was in us, so He had no need to test us. He does know -- but we don't. It is true that God does not tempt us to do wrong or to fail, just to see if we will.
God does not tempt us! He does not use evil to test us (James 1:13). God just allows us to act on His Word -- which is more than enough to put us over -- to overcome evil.
Does God use the devil to teach us, correct us, and discipline us? No -- not any more than a good human parent would -- or does.
Another reason I thought God does not test us was because then we would not know when to resist the devil and when to submit to God. However, God's tests are different than the temptations and trials of the devil. God's test is whether we act on His Word, trusting Him.
We should always stand in faith, and resist the devil and his works. God's Word always works -- but not always instantly. From when we take our stand on God's Word to when the answer manifests, constitutes the test.
PSALM 105:19 NKJ
19 Until the time that his word came to pass, The word of the Lord tested him.God's Word is our test -- whether we will believe it and act on it, or not.
Actually, all of this life is a test. In Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus told a parable to tell us this truth. We are being prepared for a great future!
Learning and growth involves testing. Testing lets you know how you are doing. If you are not doing so well, turn to God, asking for His help. Spend more time in God's Word and in prayer.
Remember that God is for you -- He is on your side. He sent His Word, His Holy Spirit, His angels, and His ministers to help you.
The following are some of the Scriptures showing that God does test people.
Old Testament Scriptures GENESIS 22:1-2 NKJ
1 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham . . . .
2 And He said, "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering . . . ."EXODUS 16:4 NKJ
4 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not.DEUTERONOMY 8:2-3 NKJ
2 "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.
3 "So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.DEUTERONOMY 8:16 NKJ
16 "who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end --DEUTERONOMY 13:3 NKJ
3 "you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.JUDGES 3:1,4 NKJ
1 Now these are the nations which the Lord left, that He might test Israel by them . . .
4 And they were left, that He might test Israel by them, to know whether they would obey . . . .2 CHRONICLES 32:31 NKJ
31 . . . God withdrew from him, in order to test him, that He might know all that was in his heart.PSALM 11:4-5 NKJ
4 The Lord is in His holy temple, The Lord's throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.
5 The Lord tests the righteous . . . .PROVERBS 17:3 NKJ
3 . . . the Lord tests the hearts.ECCLESIASTES 3:18 NKJ
18 . . . the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are like beasts."ISAIAH 48:10 NKJ
10 Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.JEREMIAH 17:10 NKJ
10 I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
New Testament Scriptures JOHN 6:5-6 NKJ
5 Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?"
6 But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.2 CORINTHIANS 2:9 NKJ
9 For to this end I also wrote, that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things.JAMES 1:2-3 NKJ
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.JAMES 1:12-13,16-17 NKJ
12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been proved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
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