A Faithful God to Unfaithful People — Pt. 3

Deuteronomy 8:1–20

God tests his people through suffering and abundance. Our circumstances should not determine our desire to seek after Him.

God led his people out of Egypt and into the wilderness to teach them humility and for them to learn to trust Him. He did after all provide their freedom out of slavery. It is easy to trust God when He is leading you into glorious freedom, but the real test for the Israelites was yet to come. Would they maintain their faithfulness when things were difficult? Testing has a way of proving what is in our hearts. To clarify, God does not allow testing to harm us or play some kind of maniacal game with His creation. Testing is always about our view of God during the struggle, and the avenue by which God makes His people more like Christ.

When going through a test, our true selves tend to come out. The true feelings of the Israelites sure did. They complained and argued and then complained and argued some more. What they were really showing is that they did not believe that the God who rescued them from slavery was capable of sustaining them in the wilderness.

When your life is under pressure, what comes out? When you are squeezed, what do others see come from your struggles?

God’s purposes are never random or bizarre. His plan was to teach His people some special lessons during their time in the wilderness. His goal was not to punish them, but to develop discipline in their lives. It took Moses’ prayer and patience in dealing with the people. God would have been well within His rights to walk away from them. But God had made a promise to the them, and He always keeps His word. Moses remembered what the others had forgotten; God was going to deliver His promise of a rich and wonderful land for them to dwell in. But they had to get through the test first. Typically, when God allows us to suffer in something, there is a rich and wonderful promise on the other side of the suffering. The job we have, just like the people of Israel, is to continue trusting God and walking with Him.

— What do others see in you when you face suffering?

It doesn’t matter what the suffering is, it always creates pressure in our lives. What do other people see in your reaction? What do they hear from you? Are they pointed to a great and holy God? Or are they led to believe that God doesn’t care for His creation?

— Remember God’s Promises to His children

Perhaps you are in a place of suffering now. If your not at the moment, you will be eventually. We all will. Remember what God has promised you as a believer in Christ. The suffering will never negate the promise.