There’s a big difference between tempting and testing, and knowing the difference is the secret to personal growth as a child of God. I’m studying the wisdom literature books in the first half of this year, and recently I came across a great reminder of the way God tests us and how that contrasts with the way Satan tempts us…

The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts. 

(Proverbs 17:3)

We use tools and instruments to try our precious metals (gold and silver), but there is no worldly furnace or crucible (fining pot) to purify the human heart. The Lord has to do that. He tries the hearts of men, putting us to the test, strengthing our resolve, and increasing our faith.

This is not the same as temptation.

A test is not a temptation. A test is when God gives us a command. Every command is a test. What is the test? It is “do I love the Lord enough to obey Him?” Sometimes the tests are easy, but not always. Abraham was given many commands in his life, and not all of them were necessarily challenging. They were all tests, however, and he passed them without incident. On the other hand, there was the time when God told Abraham to offer Isaac on an altar. That too was a command. That too was a test. It was the same test as always: “do I love the Lord enough to obey Him?”

If God only ever gave us “easy” tests, we would never grow. Imagine a senior in High School being tested on the alphabet or basic addition and subtraction. The tests would be passed without incident, but the student would not be prepared for the next phase of his life. God tests us to help us grow, to strengthen our faith, and deepen our relationship with Him.

A test is not a temptation. A test is when God gives us a command. A temptation is when the devil entices us, tricks us, or lies to us in an attempt to get us to break God’s command. The Devil never commands us. The Devil doesn’t care about commands. He’s all about empowering you to live your life your way, consequences be damned. He also fails to mention that it’s not the consequences that are damned; it’s you.

Be thankful for God’s tests. They are given to strengthen us to better resist the Devil’s temptations.

~Matthew