Tests

Exodus 15. Some of the greatest disappointments follow the greatest victories. And at the end of chapter 15 we see such a case. Verse 23 says that "they came to Marah..." (Exodus 15:23). Let me ask you, who led them there? Did they stumble in there by accident? Were they lost? Or, did God bring them there? Why did God bring them there? Verse 25 gives the reason: it was there that God tested them (Exodus 15:25). God was testing His people, not because He didn't know what was in their hearts, but because they didn't know what was in their own hearts. People often say, "Well I know my own heart." But they forget that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (Jer.17:9). The children of Israel had just witnessed the miraculous hand of God, and you would think [they even thought] they would be faithful followers of God. But God brings them to a point of no water to test them to see what was in their hearts.

That is why God tests us--to enable us to see what's in our hearts. The Lord tests us to bring out the best in us. The devil tempts us to bring out the worse in us. The Lord tests us to encourage spiritual growth. The devil test us to encourage spiritual immaturity. The attitude we take towards our difficult and disappointing situations determines which direction we go in life. In other words attitude determines altitude. If we trust God and obey His word, we'll pass the test and grow. But if we doubt God, disobey Him and complain, we'll fail the test and remain immature (James 1:12-18).