I will never put God to the test again.
Dear reader, you may find some difficulty believing what I am about to tell you, but it actually happened to me. I put God to test; and I was so scared with what happened to me after that test. Since then I have vowed that I will never test God – again.
What is testing God?
Putting God to test means forcing God to do something not according to his will, but according to your selfish wishes. You do something and you want God to prove himself that he is the Almighty. A very good example is when someone climbs to the very top of a 100-storied skyscraper and prays like this:
God, it is written in Psalm 91:11 that you will command your angels concerning me to guard me in all my way. Now I am going to jump to the ground. If you do not command your angels to catch me, then I will know that you are not God.
What the Bible says.
The Bible says that:
Do not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah.
Deuteronomy 6:16.
What happened at Massah that this verse is referring to? God had instructed the children of Israel to move to this place with a promise to them that he will provide them with food and water. When the Israelite’s reached Massah, they could not see the water that God promised, so they started doubting his existence. They were complaining to Moses like this:
If God is among us, then why don’t we have water?
Exodus 17:7
How I put God to test.
What I am about to tell you happened to me a few years after I had accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, more than twenty five years ago. I was still young in salvation and on this day I was completely broke. I had used all the money I had to buy the most essential domestic food items and fuel for my car – yet I had many other needs that required cash payments. In this state, I kept on wondering whether God really loved me. Therefore during my prayer time at night I prayed like this:
Father in Heaven, do you really love me? If you love me, as you say, then why don’t I have any money? Now, this is what I want you to do if you really love me: tomorrow cause someone to come and give me the money I need.
Dear reader, if I had known the consequences of this type of prayer, I would not have talked to God like this. What I prayed was putting God to test. Now get ready, you are about to see what happened to me.
My near-death experience.
The following day I went to my place of work but the day ended without my getting any money as I had expected. As I drove from my place of work back home something happened. I was at high speed and overtook the vehicle in front of me not knowing that there was an obstruction ahead. Since I could not suddenly break (if I did, the vehicle would roll over) I swerved off the road on to a nearby rough stretch missing a deep trench just by a few feet!
Had it not been for God‘s mercy and love, I would be dead by now, Finally I managed to maneuver the speeding vehicle back on the road. As I composed myself and continued driving, I heard God’s voice saying to me:
You have seen how much I love you. Had it not been my love, you would be dead by now.
I thanked God a million times for saving my life, and I realized that God’s love does not mean having everything you need. It means having life, as well as Jesus Christ in your heart as your assurance for Heaven.
From that incident I vowed never to put God to test – again.
