Walk in Humility

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God does not tempt. He tests.
We should know this already because the Bible told us so. Centuries ago.
["Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness ... to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart..." - Deut. 8:2]

Now if you didn't know about this, or if you keep forgetting, don't feel guilty. Same here - if it wasn't for Lysa TerKeurst's First5 teaching on Deuteronomy 8 last year, I'd probably still be confused. In it, she asked, "Might God be using these humbling circumstances to get you to a place of deep and unshakable trust in Him?"

What a #TruthBomb moment, right?

Now before I chatter on, let's make a mental note NOT to confuse His spiritual tests with temptation, though. According to the main definitions on Dictionary.com, there is a clear distinction between the two words:
tempt /tɛmpt/ verb ~ to attempt to persuade or entice to do something, esp something morally wrong or unwise.
test /tɛst/ noun ~ to ascertain (the worth, capability, or endurance) of (a person or thing) by subjection to certain examinations; try.

I don't think God tests us to find out what's in our hearts, as such. I'm sure that He already knows what we're hiding in there. I believe that we are tested so that we, too, can find out how/where we're lacking in our faith. These hardships are meant to remind us to live in the Word ["...man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord." - Deut. 8:3] and continue to walk with Him ["Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God..." - Deut. 8:10].

Phare du Petit Minou, Plouzane, France, Photo by William Bout on Unsplash 

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