Testing

I know, my God, that You test the heart and are pleased with integrity.

 

1 Chronicles 29:17a

God tests His children to know what is in their hearts. God's desire for each of His children is to walk in relationship with Him, to uphold His righteousness and integrity. It is a high calling that we will fail to achieve without complete dependence on Him.

 

God tests His children to know what is in their hearts.

The greatest tests come not in great adversities, but during times of great growth and blessing. For it is in blessings that we begin to lose the sensitivity to sin in our lives, adversity motivates us to righteousness out of a desire to see our adversity changed.

For example, Hezekiah was a great godly king. He was a faithful, God-honoring king most of his life, but toward the end he became proud. God wanted to find out if he would still honor Him and recognize His blessings in his life. He failed the test when God sent an envoy to his palace to inquire about a miracle that God performed on behalf of Hezekiah. The test was designed to find out if Hezekiah would publicly acknowledge the miracle performed on his behalf.

But when envoys were sent by the rulers of Babylon to ask him about the miraculous sign that had occurred in the land, God left him to test him and to know everything that was in his heart (See 2 Chronicle 32:31). Hezekiah's failure resulted in his children failing to carry on as rulers of Israel, and the nation would eventually be taken over by Babylon.

The lesson of Hezekiah is clear and if we are to remain faithful to God, we must remain steadfast in our obedience to Him. Again, during growth and blessings it can be our greatest test.