3月10日
标 题： 试炼显露你的内心
经 节： 你也要记念耶和华─你的神在旷野引导你这四十年，是要苦炼你，试验你，要知道你心内如何，肯守祂的诫命不肯。祂苦炼你，任你饥饿，将你和你列祖所不认识的吗哪赐给你吃，使你知道，人活着不是单靠食物，乃是靠耶和华口里所出的一切话。（申命记八章2～3节）
神允许我们面对困境是有原因的。神让祂的以色列儿女在旷野漂流四十年，是为了试炼他们，使他们谦卑。以色列百姓当年拒绝顺服地进入迦南地，他们暴露出自己并不是真的认识祂。如果以色列百姓真的认识祂，他们的信心会大得多。神花了四十年去试炼祂百姓的心，看看他们是否能胜任下一个任务。
试炼显露出你内心的实际情况，并且熬炼出不屈不挠的信心（雅各书一：3、12）。神允许祂的百姓面对饥饿，好叫他们能经历祂的供应，创建更深的信心。当人们与神同行，他们渐渐地了解自己是靠祂的话语而活，他们知道神的话是他们拥有最重要的资产。当他们靠着神在沙漠生活四十年之后，他们听从神的话，并且相信神。当他们终于进入神的应许之地，与敌人交战，以色列百姓清楚知道，神的话意味着生与死。他们预备好要聆听，结果神带领他们得到盛大的胜利。
神正试炼你生命的哪一部分？祂的测试显露出什么？你是否因为所处的环境，而对神满怀苦毒？还是你因而更信任祂？
Testing
Reveals Your Heart
“And
you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years
in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart,
whether you would keep His commandments or not. “So He humbled you,
allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did
your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread
alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.
(Deuteronomy 8:2-3)
God allows us to suffer difficulties and
hardships for a purpose. God led the children of Israel to wander through the
wilderness for forty years in order to humble them and test them. When they
refused to obey Him and enter the Promised Land, the Israelites revealed that
they did not really know Him. If they had, they would have had more faith. God
spent the next forty years testing the hearts of His people to see if they were
prepared for His next assignment.
Testing reveals what is in your heart and
produces a robust faith (James 1:3, 12). God allowed His people to hunger so
they could experience His provision and develop a deeper level of trust in Him.
As the people walked with God they came to understand that their lives depended
upon His Word. They learned that God’s Word was the most important thing they
had. After depending on God for forty years while living in the desert, the
people listened when God spoke, and they believed. When they finally entered
the Promised Land and waged war against their enemies, the Israelites knew that
God’s word meant life and death. They were prepared to listen to Him, and as a
result He led them to an astounding victory.
Is God presently testing you in some area
of your life? What has His testing revealed? Have you become bitter toward God
because of where He has led you? Or have you come to trust Him more as a result
of what you have gone through?
