Testing God

In Exodus we read about the children of Israel (and most of the adults) testing God (Exo 17:1-7). They had crossed the Red Sea through a mighty miracle and days later were grumbling about food (Exo 16:1-2). Then they grumbled about water. (They always seemed to grumble. They didn't just ask.) So God had Moses strike the rock and water came out. Moses called the place "Massah and Meribah" (Exo 17:7), where "Massah" means to test and "Meribah" means to quarrel. Notice the test, then. "Is the LORD among us, or not?"

We easily point at those naughty Israelites and berate them, but isn't that us ... all the time? We don't simply ask (James 4:2). We complain. We complain that God isn't doing what we think He should. We complain that this person shouldn't have cancer and that person shouldn't have lost his job. We complain that family members are sick or we're in need and don't have what we need. Just like the children of Israel, we ... test God. And ... let's just say ... He's not happy about it. Of that event, Deuteronomy says, "You shall not put YHWH your God to the test, as you tested Him at Massah" (Deut 6:16). And we think, "Well, I'm not complaining about water in the Sinai Desert, so I'm not testing God ... I'm just ... complaining." (Okay, we probably don't say that. We don't think about it.) And we are guilty of not simply asking God, but of testing Him ... in ways He prohibits.

God has promised to meet our needs (Php 4:19). He has assured us that all things work together for good (Rom 8:28-29). He never fails (1 Cor 1:9). So ... ask yourself ... "Is the LORD among us, or not?" If you conclude that He is, all these questions and complaints will change their tone from "quarreling" to asking, from "testing" to waiting on the Lord. And trusting God is always the best idea.