PASTOR’S CORNER, Pat Mann, President of Good Samaritan Auxiliary
James 1:2-4 (KJV): “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”
Do you think God will test your faith? He will. God does not need to test our faith so that He can learn something. He already knows everything. He tests our faith so WE can learn something about ourselves.
I can think of two good reasons why God puts our faith to the test. The Bible sometimes calls it being “tempted” or “tried.” First, God will test our faith so that we, ourselves can know the extent of our faith and know within ourselves that we are indeed mature and steadfast in our faith. Example – the Bible says that God tempted Abraham – tested him and tried him. God knew Abraham’s faith was fully grown, but likely even Abraham himself did not know to what extent he completely believed that God was a God who would keep His Word. Here’s what the Bible says in Genesis 22 – “Later on, God tested Abraham’s faith and obedience.”
You know the command that God gave to Abraham regarding his beloved son, Isaac – to offer him as a bunt sacrifice to the Lord. If you are at all familiar with this event in Abraham’s life, you know how it turned out. Abraham laid his son out on the altar and raised the knife to take his beloved son’s life in obedience to God’s command. At that instance the Lord stopped him and provided a substitute sacrifice.
There is no indication Abraham even hesitated to obey the Lord. The Bible indicates that Abraham got up EARLY the next morning. He did not hesitate in his obedience. Someone has said “Delayed obedience is disobedience.”
We don’t know what was really going through Abraham’s mind until the New Testament in Hebrews 11:17-20 (The Living Bible): “While God was testing him, Abraham still trusted in God and his promises, and so he offered up his son Isaac and was ready to slay him on the altar of sacrifice; 18 yes, to slay even Isaac, through whom God had promised to give Abraham a whole nation of descendants! He believed that if Isaac died God would bring him back to life again; and that is just about what happened, for as far as Abraham was concerned, Isaac was doomed to death, but he came back again alive!”
Isn’t that amazing! Abraham believed so much in God’s promise about the future that even if he did slay his son, he was sure God would bring him back to life in order to fulfill His promise. Now THAT is trust!
Perhaps until that moment even Abraham didn’t realize how much he believed God’s promises. God not only wanted Abraham to know the extent of his faith, He also wanted US to know it today. It’s a challenge to our faith, isn’t it?
Can we trust God that much?
In what ways has your faith been tested? What score would you give yourself? Not many of us could say we have been “tried” as severely as that for which Abraham was tested. I suppose God would desire that the man through whom He would choose to begin a great nation of people would be such a man with faith and obedience such as Abraham. This would be the nation through whom God would send His own son as a sacrifice for our sins – yet God would provide no substitute for Him.
In part 2 next week we will see another example of a time when God tested his people, the Israelites when they didn’t do so well.
