God's Testing
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written,
‘One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Matthew 4:1-4
Why does God allow us to suffer? Our best possible life is lived in communion with God. Through Christ Jesus we gain reconciliation with God, we are justified and forgiven, and as we grow in faith, grow closer to God, and relinquish our worldly baggage, we gain His wholeness, satisfaction, and life abundant. Each step along the entire process involves radical transformation through Christ Jesus, and our transformation is often painful.
In certain seasons, suffering is the catalyst for growth. Through suffering we gain clarity on what is really important in life, we grow in faith, we grow closer to God, He prepares us for service we would never otherwise be able to do, and God reveals His glory through us and our situation. His light shines brighter in the darkness. It’s about drawing and revealing, and through Scripture we see God using a variety of techniques to draw us to Him and to reveal His glory through us. Let’s consider one. I will refer to it as God’s testing.
The Greek verb transliterated as peirazo (pi-rad’-zo) is often translated as either test or tempt, depending on the goal of the one designing or implementing the challenge. The word is used in both positive and negative ways. The devil tempts, encouraging us to cross the line in rebellion, and God tests, revealing to us our deficiencies to help us grow in faith and grow closer to Him. By test, I do not mean some pious judge watching and waiting for us to mess up, baiting us to fall into a trap like the way the word is used when religious leaders ask Jesus questions to test Him (see Matthew 16:1, 19:3, 22:18, 22:35).
God knows everything. He knows our hearts. He knows our deficiencies. He knows areas we need to work on, areas of filth that need to be cleansed, areas where faith is lacking. Tests do not to reveal our deficiencies to God, they reveal our deficiencies to each of us.
It reminds me of being in school, studying for the big exam. The entire experience was always awful and stressful, and the entire experience of preparation and taking the test and the awfulness of seeing everything I got wrong, the entire experience revealed areas of deficiency. The entire course of study and the exam process was for me and my growth, not for the professor because the professor already knew the material. Ideally, the test reveals deficiencies for us to correct and move forward improved, better prepared.
The Holy Spirit led Jesus to the wilderness to be tested (see Matthew 4:1). He was alone, fasting in the wilderness, interacting with the tempter, the devil, Satan – the text uses all three references to the evil one. Jesus endured physical challenges – He was alone in the wilderness with no food for a long time. He endured emotional and spiritual challenges, and He stood firmly on His faith. The testing was not for God the Father, it was for Jesus. It helped prepare Jesus for His ministry that would soon begin.
Through this sort of testing our deficiencies, baggage and stumbling blocks are revealed and we grow closer to God by correcting them, and this prepares us to move forward with God stronger than before and prepared for new ministry opportunities. The Holy Spirit led Jesus to the wilderness as His final preparation for ministry.
This is like God’s message through Isaiah. God says,
Do not remember the former things
or consider the things of old.
I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth; do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19
The Book of Job begins by describing Job as a righteous person. The Book of Job begins saying,
There was once a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. That man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. Job 1:1
As we see Job lose his children, his possessions, his source of livelihood and his wealth, and then his health, and we see him sitting on a trash heap scraping his infected skin, we know this was not God’s judgment for sin. So why did God allow Satan to test Job? Many expect God to reward righteous people and to punish people who intentionally sin, but Job was righteous, and God allowed him to suffer horrifically. Job cries out to God raising questions about divine justice, yet when God speaks, He does not address matters of justice. He does not explain why. Instead, He focuses on His sovereignty. Scripture says,
Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind:
“Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
Gird up your loins like a man;
I will question you, and you shall declare to me.
“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
On what were its bases sunk,
or who laid its cornerstone
when the morning stars sang together
and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy? Job 38:1-7
And God’s verbal attack of Job continues for four chapters, and after God speaks, Job responds saying,
I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye sees you;
therefore I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes.” Job 42:5-6
Through his suffering, Job met God. At the beginning Job was righteous, he did everything that was right and required of him, he maintained the rituals of faith, but through his suffering, his time of testing, he grew. Through his testing he was transformed and suddenly he could see God. He experienced God in a new way, and he grew in faith.
Through suffering we grow closer to God and God’s glory is revealed. Scripture is filled with people who God tested through suffering, and time and time again God reveals His glory through them. In your time of darkness, please know that God is with you. Please pray for God to reveal His light to you with greater clarity so that you might focus on Him and grow in Him and gain increasingly His life abundant through Christ Jesus. Amen.