I Will Remain Loyal To God

I Will Remain Loyal to God (Exodus 15:22-26; 16:2-4, 31-35) Why does God test His own? God knows our hearts & minds, so we have nothing to prove to Him (Rom. 4:13) The test results are to be a lesson to the individual being tested – the individual learns to recognize his/her inherent strengths and weaknesses. God tests His own so that they can become stronger, more mature and more complete, lacking in nothing (Deut. 8:2-3, 15-16; Job 23:10, Isa. 48:10; James 1:2-4, 12; Heb. 12:5-11; 1 Pe. 5:7; Rom. 5:3-4; 8:35-39) When we fail tests, and we all will, God extends His grace to help us overcome our failure. God “tests” us for our edification. By contrast, Satan “tempts” us in order to lead us to harm. God will test our faith/trust (Job 13:15; 1 Pe. 1:6-7; Rom 4:16-21) God will test our loyalty (Daniel 3 :16-18; 2 Sam. 15:21; Ruth 1:16, 17; Joshua 24:15) Loyalty means nothing unless it has at its heart the absolute principle of self-sacrifice. – Woodrow Wilson. God will test our love (for Him and others) (Mark 12:30-31; 1 Cor.13: 4-7 John 21:15; Matt.4:44-48) God will test our willingness to obey Him (Gen. 22:1-18; Luke 14:26-33; John 12:24-26) In Genesis 22:1 the purpose of the test was to actualize Abraham's potential. After the test, Abraham realized and understood his own commitment to God’s word. When we trust in God and remain faithful, demonstrating this by our diligent obedience to His direction, He can and will turn the “bitter” into the “sweet” mathaq {maw-thak'}Heb. = sweet or pleasant, like a ripe piece of fruit When God heals, he restores both physical and spiritual wholeness. Our actions demonstrate our faith, or the lack thereof (Titus 1:16)

God will test our willingness to humble ourselves (2 Cor.12:7-10; Phillip.2:5-11) God will test our endurance (Matt. 24:8-13; Heb.10:32-34) Successful test-taking involves giving attention, studying/reflecting, demonstrating inner calm, applying knowledge, and maintaining a positive attitude.

Cor.

It is not a sin for us to bring God our problems. He wants us to “cry out” to Him as Moses did. He invites us to talk things over with Him through prayer. What is a sin, however, is to have a complaining spirit (1 10:10; Rom. 3:12), which is also in essence an ungrateful spirit. luwn {loon} or liyn {leen}Heb. = continuously murmured, grumbled, complained. (Occurs some 88 times in the Hebrew Scriptures, some 25 times in Exodus & Deuteronomy alone. That’s a lot of complaining!) A complaining spirit robs us of the joy of serving God and others.

Our complaining also adversely impacts those around us. In Num. 14:31 we read of how these complainers would never enter the land of Canaan. Their children would one day go in and posses the land, but they would not possess the land immediately. We read in Num. 14:33, “Your sons shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years, and bear the brunt of your infidelity, until your carcasses are consumed in the wilderness.” So, we see here that the children would also have to bear the punishment of the wilderness. When the children finally entered Canaan their parents would have already been dead, and they would have been around 60 to 70years-old. A.L. Todd once said, “We can complain because rosebushes bear thorns, or we can rejoice because thorn bushes bear roses.” The opposite of complaining is contentment and gratitude. Time in the “wilderness” = a time of deprivation = a time of testing of one’s faith and dependence upon God. Mother Theresa once said ‘you will never know Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have’. Many of us will never make that discovery The number 40 in the Bible speaks of a generation, but it also symbolizes earthly trials and tribulations: It rained on Noah 40 days and nights How long did Ninevah have to repent? 40 days. Jesus fasting in wilderness? 40 days

“Daily” bread (Exodus 16:4; Ps. 68:19; Matt. 6:11) God provides what is sufficient for each day, so that we may remain dependent upon His provision. In Deuteronomy we’re told, "He did this to humble you…so you would never think that it was your own strength and energy that made you prosperous" (Deut. 8:17). God will provide for His own. As David wrote, “I have been young, and [now] am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” (Ps. 37:25) Bread is a symbol for everything necessary for life and well-being-to include food, good health, shelter, clothing, a means of income, peace, safety, friends and family. The book of Proverbs gives the right perspective: "Lord, give me neither poverty nor riches; give me just enough to satisfy my needs. For if I grow rich, I may deny You and say, ’Who is the Lord?’ And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy Name." (Prov. 30:8-9) Paul tells Timothy, "If we have food and clothing, let us be content with that" (1 Tim. 6:8). When we thank God before a meal we’re acknowledging that He has provided for our needs. We’re not indifferent. Scripture says that our food is "sanctified", set apart when it is received with thanksgiving (I Tim 4:4-5). Hoarding is a form of idolatry because it involves putting trust in something/someone other than God.