Do Not Test the Lord your God

Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Matthew 4:5-7

The Holy Spirit is not the only one who will quote scriptures in your ear. Notice in this second temptation of our Lord, that Satan uses scripture to tempt Jesus. Also interesting to note is that the scripture is not taken out of context. He tells Jesus to put himself in harms way and quotes a portion of Psalm 91 that really is referring to protecting God’s people from harm.

I have found that there are usually two basic mindsets I have when scripture comes to mind. I am either in a place of faith and the scripture that comes to mind pushes me forward and encourages. Or the scripture that comes to mind will be one that puts me in a place of condemnation, challenging my faith. Jesus said he did not come to condemn, so I believe that those times are not from Him. I believe it is the enemy trying to get me to test God.

What is it to Test God?

Jesus responded to Satan with the scripture:

You shall not put the LORD your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah.

Deut 6:16 ESV

Here is what happened in Massah:

And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the LORD by saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”

Exodus 17:7 ESV

Notice the mindset of the people that tested God; “Is the Lord among us or not?”. This is a place of doubt. This is the position of the one that puts God to the test.

I’ve done this more times than I would like to admit in my life. Even lately, one time I might pray for the sick without even a second thought. The next time I pray for the sick, before I even pray, the words “will He heal them, or will he not” are going through my mind. How similar those thoughts are to the thoughts of those at Massah.

I believe there is a place as a Christian, as God’s child, where we can always know the answer to that question before we pray. I think this is the difference in testing and trusting.

To Prove the Will of God…You Must Know The Will of God

Some might want to argue with this statement, so lets confront the argument here. You might say that even if you don’t know God’s will, if you will just pray about a matter, then the answer you receive is God’s will. For example to prove whether it is God’s will to heal a person we could pray for that person. If they are healed that proves His will was to heal. If not, it proves His will was not to heal. Right?

The problem with this is that it assumes God answers all prayers, even prayers of doubt, or prayers of testing “will He, or won’t He???” Lets look at an example from scripture:

And behold, a man from the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out. It convulses him so that he foams at the mouth, and shatters him, and will hardly leave him.
And I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.”

[…] Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.

Luke 9:38-42 ESV

The disciples could not cast out the demon. Was it God’s will to cast it out? Yes, Jesus healed the boy. Jesus is not working against the will of God here. He is proving the will of God. Jesus, the Son, is so in-tune with the Father that everything Jesus does is just proving out God’s will here on earth.

I believe God’s will for each of His children is to come into a place of intimacy with Him. I believe that God wants us to have the same submission to His Spirit and understanding of His will that Jesus had.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Romans 12:2 NKJV

I hear people making excuses all of the time for not seeing God move. We say “Well, Paul prayed three times”…”What about so and so, they prayed and nothing happened. Surely God would have answered them”. Over and over we use someone less than Jesus as our example.

Paul said, “follow me as I follow Christ” (1 Cor 11:1) and “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” (Phil 3:12).

If we are going to make someone our example, it should be Christ. There was a deeper relationship for Paul to press into and there is more for you and I to press into. God wants to transform us, to renew our minds, and to bring us into the image of Jesus. Don’t stop short of that simply because your Grandmother, though her faith may have been great, was your example instead of Jesus being your example.

Even now as I write this, I have a sick 3 year old laying against my arm. I could get condemned or question God’s will because my child is sick and I am not able to heal him, or I could press on knowing that I have more to grow. Just because he is sick, doesn’t mean it is God’s will. Jesus is my example and he ALWAYS healed.

Where to Find the Faith to Trust?

The answer is in oneness. In Jewish culture, the Father and the Son were one. Family lines were very important and told who you were as much as anything else did.

Jesus Said “I and my Father are one”

also from the Jews’ perspective…

This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

John 10:30 &5:18 ESV

God gives us so many illustrations to show us that He wants us to be as intimate and personal with Him as a Son to a Father, or as a bride would be to her husband.

It is ironic to me that the verse used to tempt Jesus was out of Psalm 91. This Psalm is all about abiding in God. Jesus’s answer to Satan just proves that Jesus was living out this Psalm. He did not need to test God, because He abides with God and knows His will.

Find Deeper Faith in the Secret Place

King David of the Old Testament was one who trusted God, even when it seemed there was no reason to trust Him. He wrote Psalm 27 as a declaration of this faith.

A Psalm of David.

The LORD is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?

When the wicked came against me
To eat up my flesh,
My enemies and foes,
They stumbled and fell.

Though an army may encamp against me,
My heart shall not fear;
Though war may rise against me,
In this I will be confident.

One thing I have desired of the LORD,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the LORD
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the LORD,
And to inquire in His temple.

For in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall set me high upon a rock.

Psalm 27:1-5 NKJV

Notice that the first few verses are about the unshakable faith even in the face of insurmountable circumstances. Though war may rise against me,
In this I will be confident. How can he have this confidence? The answer is in what he is seeking: intimacy and oneness.

“That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the LORD
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the LORD,
And to inquire in His temple.”

He doesn’t have to worry about what is facing him, because he knows that in the place of intimacy he is protected by the most high God.

“For in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me”

David did not discover this truth on his own. God wanted David to seek Him. He wants you to seek Him, too.

Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice!
Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.

When You said, “Seek My face,”
My heart said to You, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.”

Psalm 27:7,8 NKJV

David says that he cried out to God for mercy. Notice God’s answer for mercy:

“Seek My face”

God says in Psalm 91 about the one who sets their love on Him:

Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him on high, because he has known My name.

He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honor him.

With long life I will satisfy him,
And show him My salvation.

Psalm 91:14-16 NKJV

The Bible tells us that God is no respector of persons. This means that if God will do something for one person, He will do it for any other person. We can go as deep into the secret place as we want to. There is nothing that seperates God’s children from coming to him. We can get to a place where the things that we do come from trusting God and proving His will. This place is the secret place.

Seek him earnestly, and he will hide you in the secret place.