Back in 1997, USA Today reported that the Department of Transportation had set aside $200 million for research and testing of an Automated Highway System. The idea is that engineers could relieve traffic congestion with a new “super cruise control” built into our highways. In cities facing heavy traffic congestion special magnets would be embedded in the road every four feet which would transfer signals between the cars and the D.O.T.’s computer system. Everything from steering, acceleration, and braking would be controlled by sensors, computer navigation systems, and cameras along the side of the road. Control would be returned to drivers as they left at specified exits. Researchers and government officials claim they have the capability to address any potential technological problem. But there is one problem they cannot overcome. Mike Doble, Buick technology manager says, “The only thing we can’t do yet is get people to comfortably trust the system. It’s not a technology issue.” People feel out of control while driving closely spaced, at high speeds, through major cities. The problem is not technology, the problem is trust — very few people would be willing to give up that kind of control.
This is the human dilemma, is it not? Giving up control. Trusting something that you are not in control of, even if that something is better at control than you are. That was the situation that the people of Israel were faced with. God was asking them to give him control and they weren’t sure they wanted to. Think about what had happened to them in less than six months. One day they were slaves in Egypt. They were beaten regularly and worked unmercifully from sunup to sunset. The Egyptians were killing every male child that was born, because they were afraid they would overtake them in the future. The Hebrews were huddled in their miserable little huts and lived in squalor. But suddenly a man named Moses appeared and said that God was going to deliver them and that, “God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them” (Exodus 2:24-25). And then, almost on a daily basis they began to see the miraculous power of God working for their deliverance. He fought for them and delivered them. The plagues which were devastating the Egyptians were not affecting them at all. Finally, the Lord led them to the Red Sea. But as they looked at the watery barrier before them they turned to see the Egyptian army in pursuit. They were filled with fear and began to cry out to God. Just then, then waters miraculously parted and they were again on their journey toward the promised land, while Pharaoh’s threatening army was destroyed in the retreating waters. When they arrived on the other side, God miraculously provided them with bread and meat, as well as all their other needs.
How great is that? It should have been enough to convince anyone that God was with them and was able to provide for them. After all, his presence was going before them in a pillar of cloud and fire. But they were only a few miles out of Egypt before they started complaining. They grumbled to Moses, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?” (Exodus 17:3). It is as though they had forgotten all that God had done for them and the amazing power he had displayed on their behalf. Moses cried out to God saying, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me” (Exodus 17:4).
The Lord answered Moses saying, “Walk on ahead of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” Then the Bible says, “So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’” (Exodus 17:5-7). What an incredible accusation! How much evidence did they need to realize the Lord was with them? So the next time someone says to you, “If there really is a God, why doesn’t he show himself? If he exists, why doesn’t he do some miracle so that everyone will see it and have to believe in him?” You can tell them that he has already done that and it didn’t work. He demonstrated his love for them and showed them his power. He was visibly present with them and spoke to them out of heaven, and it didn’t matter. They still did not believe, and their hearts were still full of rebellion. (By the way, the same thing was true in the New Testament. God came in visible form, in the person of Jesus, told them he loved them, demonstrated that love with blessings and miracles, powerfully providing food and healings, and not only did they not believe in him, they killed him.)
But God had brought the Hebrew people into the Sinai desert for a purpose. He was testing them. Why would God test them? Why not just meet their needs without making them have to wait and wonder? Why not anticipate their needs and give them what they needed before they asked? Because God was wanting their faith to grow. When I was in school I hated tests. Tests meant I had to work. I had to think, study and memorize. I thought the teachers secretly loved giving those things just to punish us. But the older I got the more I realized that without those tests I probably wouldn’t have learned anything. Why study if there isn’t going to be a test? The Hebrew people learned that God was testing them because he wanted them to learn the most important lesson of life: how to trust and obey him. There is no more important lesson that we can learn.
And what was true for the Hebrews is true for all of us. I have noticed that God works in a predictable pattern: First, he makes a promise to us. Second, he tests our faith — our ability to believe the promise. Third, he watches for our obedience — our ability to walk in the light of that promise. Fourth, he grants his blessing — the fulfillment of the promise. This is what the Lord did with Noah. He made a promise. He tested Noah to see if he would believe what he told him, even though the flood did not come for many years. Then he watched for Noah’s obedience, and when he saw Noah’s obedience he gave him the blessing of a brand new world. God did the same with Abraham. The promise of a son was given. Then the Lord waited to see if Abraham would believe the promise in spite of a long delay. He watched for Abraham’s obedience and finally rewarded him with the son of promise. That is how God works with you. He reassures you with a promise of hope for the future. But the promise is sometimes delayed, and it may look like it will never happen. God is testing your faith. He watches for obedience, and when you have learned to trust him, he grants the promised blessing.
What is the purpose of these tests? What is God trying to do? The first thing these tests of faith do is: They show what is inside of us. The testing of our faith brings out the best or the worst in us — sometimes both. The Hebrews failed the test time after time. They grumbled, whined and complained. They accused God of wrongdoing. They failed to follow God and love him. More than once they rebelled against the leadership of Moses and were ready to kill him. While Moses was on the mountain receiving the ten commandments they were worshiping the gods of Egypt and casting off every moral restraint. When it came time to enter the land promised to them by God, they refused to go because it might be difficult and dangerous — again forgetting the presence, provision and power of their God who had proved himself to them over and over.
But these tests brought out the best in men like Joshua and Caleb who, even though they had gone to spy out the land the Lord had promised them, and personally seen the dangers there, said, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us” (Numbers 14:7-8). It brought out the best and the worst in Moses. He kept loving God and loving the people in spite of the hard time they gave him. At one point, when God was about to destroy the people, because of their wanton rebellion, Moses said to the Lord, “But now, please forgive their sin — but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written” (Exodus 32:32). Early on, when they complained about being thirsty, he prayed that the Lord would give them water. But when they kept on complaining, he became so angry that he pounded on the rock with his staff in frustration, losing his temper. This act of rage kept him from entering the place that God had promised to bring his people. But God was teaching Moses lessons of faith and obedience which were more important than entering the promised land.
For some people these tests seem more like teasing than testing. Especially in this culture where we want the blessing and we want it now. We are a culture of convenience. Perseverance is not our forte. But God is not playing with us. What we have to learn is that there are some things more important than receiving blessings — even if they are blessings God has promised to us. Learning to trust God is more important than any gift he could ever give us. Someone has said, “Experience is the hardest kind of teacher. It gives you the test first and the lesson afterward.” The question is whether it will eventually bring out the best in us, or the worst.
A tall young Army officer watched the clock nervously. In just a few minutes he would see the woman who had gotten his name and written to him for the past year and a half — although they had never met. Lt. Blandford had confessed to her in one of his letters that often he felt fear. Only a few days before his next battle, he had received a letter from her which said: “Of course you fear... all brave men do. Next time you doubt yourself, I want you to hear my voice reciting to you: ‘Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for thou art with me.’” Those words strengthened him for his next battle, and now he was actually going to hear voice of the woman who had written those words. At four minutes to six a girl passed close to him, and Lt. Blandford’s heart jumped. She was wearing a flower, but it was not the little red rose they had agreed upon. She had refused his request to send him her photograph. She wrote: “If your feelings for me were real, what I look like won’t matter.” It was one minute to six, and once more his heart gave him a start. A young woman was coming toward him. Her figure was long and slim; her blond hair lay back in curls from delicate ears. Her eyes were blue as flowers, her lips and chin had a gentle firmness. In her pale-green suit, she was like springtime come alive. He started toward her, not noticing that she was not wearing a rose. As she moved past, she gave a small provocative smile. “Going my way, soldier?” she murmured. Then he saw another woman — one wearing a red rose. She was walking directly behind the girl in the green suit, a woman well past 40. Her graying hair was tucked under a worn hat. She was plump, and her red rose was pinned to a rumpled coat. The girl in the green suit was walking quickly away. Blandford felt exceedingly drawn to the smiling girl, but he had a great longing for the woman whose spirit had touched him so deeply. She was now standing before him, and he could see that though her face was plain and pale, it was gentle and sensible. Her gray eyes exuded warmth. Lt. Blandford greeted her warmly. He said to himself that this may not be the love of his life, but it would be a very special friendship. “I’m Lt. Blandford,” he said. “And you’re Miss Maynell. I’m so glad you could meet me. May I take you to dinner?” The woman looked at him with a questioning smile and said, “I don’t know what this is all about, son, but that young lady in the green suit, begged me to wear this rose on my coat. She told me that if you asked me to go out with you, I should tell you she’s waiting for you in that restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of test.”
God is testing the quality of our love and devotion. He wants to see what is inside — whether we are real or false. Whatever is inside will come out in the test. It will bring out the best in us or the worst in us, and what comes out will determine whether or not we pass the test. But, secondly, what these tests of faith do is: They force us to grow in faith. Evidently, God sees the quality of faith as more important than the quantity of blessings in our lives. God loves to bless us, but he values faith more than fortune. How could faith grow if we never had to wait on God? How would we ever learn to trust him if he met our needs before we realized that we had a need? We only learn about faith when we have to exercise it. We would never learn how to trust God if every prayer was answered immediately and in obvious ways. If we never tasted failure, and only had successes, how would we learn and grow?
Fred Astaire was one of the greatest entertainers of all time. He could sing, dance and act like no one else. In his famous movies like Top Hat and Swinging Time, he danced and crooned his way into people’s hearts all over the world. But when Astaire was just starting out in 1932, a Hollywood talent judge wrote on his screen test: “Can’t act. Can’t sing. Can dance a little.” But that review did not defeat him. It was a test of his determination. You will face many times in your life when others tell you what you can’t do. They will say that it can’t be done, even with God in the picture. They will discourage you and tell you that you are dreaming to wait on God and trust him. They will make you think that you can’t live by faith. But it is only a test to see if you will be defeated or determined — whether you will have fear or faith. That is the test.
The third thing that these tests of faith do is: They prove the faithfulness of God. The amazing thing is that as unfaithful as the Hebrew people were, God remained faithful. The Bible says, “If we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself” (2 Timothy 2:13). In spite of the people’s failure, in spite of their rebellion and rejection of his covenant of love, in spite of their unfaithfulness, God remained faithful to his people. He provided them with food and water in the desert. He sheltered them and protected them. He loved them with an everlasting love.
There is a story in the Bible that wonderfully demonstrates the faithfulness of God. It is the background for the Jewish feast of Purim, and is found in the book of Esther. Because Esther’s uncle Mordecai would not bow to any man, but only to God, he got into serious trouble with one of the king’s high officials named Haman. The king had ordered everyone to do homage to Haman, and everyone did — everyone except Mordecai. Haman was a proud and wicked man, and decided not only to kill Mordecai by hanging him on a gallows, but he plotted to exterminate the entire Jewish race. By order of the king, Haman set a day for the slaughter of the Jewish people. Esther and Mordecai immediately began to fast and pray to their faithful God. Through a miraculous and intriguing series of reversals, Mordecai was elevated to a place of honor, and Haman was hanged by the king — on the very gallows he had built for Mordecai. And the Jews were spared from being exterminated as a people. The very day that was set for the Jew’s demise was determined by the casting of a type of dice, called Pur. The feast of Purim celebrates the fact that God faithfully and miraculously delivered his people on the very day designed for their destruction. It was a test, because it looked as though all was lost, but God proved himself once again.
Will we go through difficult times? Yes, most certainly. But will God be faithful in seeing us through those times? Yes, most definitely. The path will sometimes be around these difficulties; sometimes over them, but often it will be through them. But we will never travel alone. Always God will be there to guide, comfort and provide. As we lose control he will be enabled to take control and work out his marvelous will. Jesus said, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matthew 6:26). What he was saying was, “If God can feed all the birds in the world, can’t he take care of you? If he can feed all the plants, insects, fish and animals, surely he can meet your needs. Say with the apostle Paul: “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day” (2 Timothy 1:12).
This is a test. Use this test to see what is inside you. Use it to grow in your faith. Use it to prove again the faithfulness of God.
Rodney J. Buchanan
January 30, 2000
THIS IS A TEST
Genesis 16:1-18
“The Israelites said to them, ‘If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death’” (Exodus 16:3).
God works in a predictable pattern:
First, he ___________________________________________ .
Second, he ________________________________________ .
Third, he __________________________________________ .
Fourth, he _________________________________________ .
There are three things that God’s tests do for us:
1. They show _____________________________________ .
2. They force ______________________________________ .
3. They prove _____________________________________ .
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION (Jan 30, 2000)
1. In what area is it hardest for you to give up control?
2. Why was it so difficult for the Hebrew people to trust God after he had shown his love for them and demonstrated his power to deliver them?
3. Read Exodus 2:24-25. List the verbs that describe the reaction of God to the plight of the Hebrews. What does this say about the nature of God?
4. Read Exodus 17:5-7. What causes people to ask, “Where is God?”
5. What was the predictable pattern given concerning how God works in people’s lives? Can you think of any additions?
6. Why does God test us?
7. What are the three things that God’s tests do for us?
8. When you look back on the hardest times in your life, what did you learn from those experiences? Knowing what you do now, would you change your life if you could?
9. God’s values are often very different from ours. What are some of those differences?
10. Read Psalm 5:3. Why is it so difficult to wait on the Lord and his timing?
11. Why is it important?
12. How have you grown in your ability to trust God?
