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Glory Seed Devotionals, 2016: Expedition of Light and Truth
Testing or trusting…
“Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the LORD your God.’”” (Matthew 4:7, NLT)
This past Sunday at church I found myself in somewhat of a quandary. Jesus in his standoff with Satan made it quite clear we’re not suppose to put God to the test. Most of the time I do my best to take Jesus at his word but I’ve not done so well in the past. Sunday I had an assignment at church I wasn’t sure I could fulfill. Because of pulmonary fibrosis there are times when I get severe coughing spells (I blacked out one day last week due to one) and I wasn’t sure that wouldn’t happen again. To matters worse I started coughing several minutes before we were to move out in front of the congregation. However, in spite of my apprehension I told myself God wouldn’t let it happen and went on with my assignment. I only coughed a couple of times throughout the worship period.
Several minutes after the worship service was over I found myself wondering had I put God to the test. I asked myself – when do we cross the line between testing God and trusting God? I’ve never really thought about that before because I’ve never really thought about what it means to test God. I’ve read and re-read Jesus’ standoff with Satan and what Satan was trying to do but this was different – I wasn’t asking God to prove Himself – or was I? For me it comes down to a matter of hope, belief, faith, and trust. The book of Hebrews tells us, “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” (Hebrews 11:1, NLT)
Over the course of my life (especially the past 10 years or so) I have come to place my hope and trust in God because He has proven Himself trustworthy over-and-over, not because I have asked Him to prove Himself but because His proof is in His positive impact on my (and your) life. I’m not sure whether you’ve ever considered the line separating testing God and trusting God or not but in case you ever do just remember the next time you see a sunrise or the sunshine after the rain you’ll have all the proof you’ll ever need to know.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might!
Grace and PEACE, Amen!
Gary
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”Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they will walk in the light of your presence, LORD.” (Psalm 89:15, NLT)
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“Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.”