June 4

Deuteronomy 8 I always get nervous before a major exam. It usually makes my performance on the exam go down. Should I be nervous? Why do they have to give exams anyway? Some say it is so that the teacher can see how well they have taught. Somehow I do not think that is why most teachers give an exam, but since teachers are paid to do what they do, tests become a way of measuring whether the teacher is effective or not. Some say that is so that the teacher will know what the student has learned; therefore, he or she will know how to rank the student according to the norms. Having been a teacher before, I usually could fairly accurately forecast how a student would do on an exam based on his/her participation prior to the exam. Others say that the teacher gives tests so that the student will know what he or she has mastered. That is probably the best reason for giving the test. If the student cares then he can take what he has learned from the test and improve what is needed. Why does God test our hearts? God is amenable to no one, so I do not think He gives tests to see how effective He is as a teacher. Who’s going to fire Him, or evaluate Him? Does He need to evaluate Himself? So, why does He give the test? God is all-knowing, so He knows before I enter the test how I am going to respond. So, why does He give the test? He gives the test so that I will know the true condition of my heart. He allows me to hunger to show me how important physical bread is to me in relation to spiritual bread. He wants to teach me to hunger in the same way for spiritual bread. One morning in seminary we had no bread. We had nothing with which to make a meal in the cupboards or refrigerator. We had no money. I walked to the seminary library to have my quiet time and pray. While sitting there reading the Word, another student, whom I barely knew, stood up walked over and put a twenty dollar bill on the table in front of me and said, “I don’t know why, but the Lord told me to give this to you.” I thanked him and he walked away. That was a defining moment for me. It taught me that the Lord can and will meet my hunger needs. The problem is that I am not as sensitive to my spiritual hunger needs as I am to my physical needs. As I am writing, I am sitting at the Tampa Convention Center looking out over Tampa Bay. People are constantly walking and jogging by. I am amazed that there seems to be a higher number of beautiful women jogging than there are buff men, or perhaps it is just my maleness that notices it. One might say that it could be a time when the Lord is testing my heart and showing me what it is really there. Twenty years ago I would have had to have found a different location. I’d like to think that my heart is purer now, but really, it probably has more to do with the fact that I am getting old. He allows me to be in situations where I can see the true condition of my heart so that I can turn to Him to change it. Maybe He is changing it. Yesterday one of the other delegates reported that the Howard Johnson’s Hotel in which he was staying caught fire. It prevented him from getting to the center on time. I had left my Howard Johnson’s early in the morning, so I wondered if it was the same one in which I was staying. Secretly I was hoping that it was my hotel and that my clothes were burned up. It would be a wonderful excuse to get a new wardrobe. What does that test say about my heart? Rather than being content with simple covering, perhaps I cling more than I should to having nice clothes. The clothes I have are not bad. My house burned down 5 years ago, and the clothes I have were given to me after the fire. They are starting to get a little old. After all, they were used when I received them. If one looks closely, one can see that they are getting a little worn. Can you imagine walking around in the desert for 40 years and not wearing out your clothes? What do you suppose the test revealed about their hearts? I want my children to have their needs met, but I also do not want them to be so focused on their needs that they miss what is really important in life. Otherwise, they end up whining all the time. We do have God given drives for food, sex and clothing, but our heart’s desires for them twist those desires making them more important than they are. We then rationalize ways of fulfilling them that are outside of God’s plan. It is part of our sin nature. That nature takes those desires into directions that The Lord did not intend for them to operate. God allows tests for us to see what our hearts are really like. He, like a father, sends those disciplining—challenging tests, so that we may join with Him in changing our hearts. He loves us too much to let us remain demanding whining little children! He desires to deeply bless us with our needs, but those needs should be kept in alignment with His design! There is bread that is more important than physical bread. There is intimacy that is greater than sex. There is covering that is better than clothing which we wear. These are found delighting in His glory! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john