Test or Temptation?

April showers bring May flowers . . . unless you’re a student. Students are not thinking about flowers in May. They’re thinking about tests.

Final exams: the bane of every student. And whether they like it or not, the point of the tests is to determine if they know and understand what they’ve been learning.

How is this related to our relationship with God?

Test or Tempt: Same Word

In the Old Testament, the same Hebrew word can be translated as either test or tempt. For example, Genesis 22 speaks of God’s call for Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Genesis 22:1 adds to our potential confusion. The original King James translation translates the verse as, “God did tempt Abraham.” But subsequent modern translations replace tempt with test. How do we know which is correct?

James 1:13 states that God does not tempt us. And we know Scripture doesn’t contradict itself. But the Bible does tell us God tests His people. For example, Hebrews 11:17, tells us Abraham was tested. And in Isaiah 48:10 (NAS), God told Israel, “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.”

Let’s bring this to today. When we find ourselves in trying circumstances, how do we know if we’re being tempted by our spiritual enemy or being tested by God?

What’s the Difference?

The difference is the goal. Temptations are meant to cause us to fall. Testing by God is meant to prove our faith. Not that God needs the proof—He already knows the depths of our hearts. Instead, our tests show us what’s there. God tests us to strengthen us, so that we can see what He sees. Satan tempts us for one purpose: to cause us to fail.

The apostle Peter explained one more reason God allows testing in the lives of Christians:

“In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which perishes though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter1:6-7 NAS).

Did you catch the reason? “To result in praise, glory, and honor” at the revelation of Jesus Christ!

So the next time you find yourself in a sticky situation, wondering about the source of your circumstances, ask yourself two questions:

• What will the outcome reveal about the depth of my relationship with God?
  and
• How will my response bring the Lord praise, glory, and honor?

Students know the times of testing will end. And someday, they will end for us, too. Until then, may we view tests as refining tools that enable us to glorify our Savior!