One of the
great dangers of Christianity is testing God. The writer of Hebrews
tells us that it is the sign of a hardening heart--an evidence of
unbelief. But just what is it that we don't believe when we test God?
What we doubt is that God is good.
The reason we doubt God's goodness is that we judge Him by our circumstances. We look at what is going on in our lives, and if we don't like it, we declare God evil instead of trusting that He is good. For those are the only two alternatives: good or evil. Whenever we believe that our circumstances are not what they should be, we are questioning the goodness of God. For has He not told us that all things work for the good of His children? All things!
The children of Israel in the wilderness are the primary example of those who tested God to see if He was good or evil. They would cry out in thirst, and He would give them water. They would cry out in hunger, and He would give them food. And yet, no matter how many times He met their needs, the next day they were crying out for something else--and it was always physical. And they always wanted it now. God was only good if He gave them what they wanted--were convinced they deserved--when they wanted it. Their faith in God was based on sight, not faith. They were hardhearted--and miserable as a result. No joy, no confidence in God and His goodness, living a life dominated by self-pity. Anytime we question God's hand in our circumstances, we--like them--question whether God is good or evil. For all things come from His hand and are designed for our goodness and the goodness of His people. And there is no more miserable life to live than the doubting, hardhearted life.
How then do we defeat our tendency toward hardheartedness? After all, our circumstances certainly don't always appear to be good if we just evaluate them with our eyes and not our faith. One way is to remember. If I just meditate for a moment, I can recall myriad times that God has been good in my life. And myriad of times He has proven His goodness in the lives of His people. It is not insignificant that God was always having His people build memorials that they could point out to their children and tell them of the times God had acted for the good of His children. Both the parents and the children were reminded of God's love and provision. And what were His instructions hours before He went to the cross? "This do in remembrance of Me." In difficult times if we just remember that act of love, it should banish all the doubts we have of God's love and goodness.
And I think another key to victory over hardheartedness is encouragement. "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking the assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near." Yes, that's why it's so important that we meet together with other believers as often as possible. And I mean as often as possible--not just in church but over a cup of coffee, in the intimacy of our homes, whenever and wherever we can fellowship together. We can encourage them through difficult times to trust in God's goodness. And they can encourage us in our difficult times to trust in His goodness as well. We can take the focus off ourselves and place it on lifting up the hearts of others on the journey home with us. Perhaps we need to begin each day by singing along with the children: "God is so good; God is so good; God is so good, He's so good to me." No matter what you see, even in life's most trying moments, God is indeed "so good" to you. He has, after all, made you a partaker of Christ, a priest in the eternal kingdom of God, a joint-heir with His Son, our Savior. And that is just the beginning of all the goodness He has in store for you for all eternity.
"He loves me so; He loves me so; He loves me so, He's so good to me."
The reason we doubt God's goodness is that we judge Him by our circumstances. We look at what is going on in our lives, and if we don't like it, we declare God evil instead of trusting that He is good. For those are the only two alternatives: good or evil. Whenever we believe that our circumstances are not what they should be, we are questioning the goodness of God. For has He not told us that all things work for the good of His children? All things!
The children of Israel in the wilderness are the primary example of those who tested God to see if He was good or evil. They would cry out in thirst, and He would give them water. They would cry out in hunger, and He would give them food. And yet, no matter how many times He met their needs, the next day they were crying out for something else--and it was always physical. And they always wanted it now. God was only good if He gave them what they wanted--were convinced they deserved--when they wanted it. Their faith in God was based on sight, not faith. They were hardhearted--and miserable as a result. No joy, no confidence in God and His goodness, living a life dominated by self-pity. Anytime we question God's hand in our circumstances, we--like them--question whether God is good or evil. For all things come from His hand and are designed for our goodness and the goodness of His people. And there is no more miserable life to live than the doubting, hardhearted life.
How then do we defeat our tendency toward hardheartedness? After all, our circumstances certainly don't always appear to be good if we just evaluate them with our eyes and not our faith. One way is to remember. If I just meditate for a moment, I can recall myriad times that God has been good in my life. And myriad of times He has proven His goodness in the lives of His people. It is not insignificant that God was always having His people build memorials that they could point out to their children and tell them of the times God had acted for the good of His children. Both the parents and the children were reminded of God's love and provision. And what were His instructions hours before He went to the cross? "This do in remembrance of Me." In difficult times if we just remember that act of love, it should banish all the doubts we have of God's love and goodness.
And I think another key to victory over hardheartedness is encouragement. "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking the assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near." Yes, that's why it's so important that we meet together with other believers as often as possible. And I mean as often as possible--not just in church but over a cup of coffee, in the intimacy of our homes, whenever and wherever we can fellowship together. We can encourage them through difficult times to trust in God's goodness. And they can encourage us in our difficult times to trust in His goodness as well. We can take the focus off ourselves and place it on lifting up the hearts of others on the journey home with us. Perhaps we need to begin each day by singing along with the children: "God is so good; God is so good; God is so good, He's so good to me." No matter what you see, even in life's most trying moments, God is indeed "so good" to you. He has, after all, made you a partaker of Christ, a priest in the eternal kingdom of God, a joint-heir with His Son, our Savior. And that is just the beginning of all the goodness He has in store for you for all eternity.
"He loves me so; He loves me so; He loves me so, He's so good to me."
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