Trials are the best way, the only way, of putting your love for God to the test. Your faith then becomes real.
We would love to pray for you! Please send us your request here:
https://joniandfriends.org/contact-us/?department=Radio
SHAUNA: Hi, I’m Shauna on Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope. And Joni’s question for us today is: “Do you know what’s in your heart?”
JONI: That’s a question we need to ask ourselves often, because as Scripture says, our hearts are deceitful. I mean, we’ll be thinking we’re doing okay, that we’re cool, we’re tight with the Lord, but in reality, it’s often a different story. Oh, if we could only see, if there were only some way, we could truly know our hearts, especially as it concerns our heart-to-heart relationship with the Lord Jesus. Well, there is a way you can know the truth about what’s in your heart. And the clue is in Genesis 22. It’s the story where Abraham is about to sacrifice his son, Isaac, on the altar. And just as Abraham raises his knife, God says, “Do not lay a hand on the boy. Do not do anything to him. [For] now, I know that you fear [me,] because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”
What an amazing story about Abraham and all that was in his heart, because with hands trembling, he was prepared to offer up his only son. But “Stop!” came the voice from heaven. But why would God say, “Now I know that you fear me?” I mean, the Lord already knew what was in Abraham's heart; he alone knows the hearts of all men. So, if God knew the patriarch would pass the test long before Abraham reached for the knife, why put the old man through such a terrible ordeal? Well, the answer is simple: God did not lack information about Abraham, but Abraham probably lacked information about himself.
And this is why God tests our faith, because we are exactly the same as Abraham. God tests your faith, not so much that he might know what's in your heart, but that you might know. We say that we love God, that he’s first in our lives, that our marriages are centered around him, and that we trust and obey him. But we easily deceive ourselves unless that love for God is frequently put to the test. God wants us to know the actual, lived-out reality of our preferences for him. He wants us to know how to and to what extent our hearts are truly inclined toward him. Not merely through words [it’s easy to say words] but through the tough, demanding, gritty obedience of the day. God specializes in giving us such a hard test of faith, that it will force us to ask ourselves: ‘Wow, do I love God? Am I really willing to follow him through this terrible trial? Am I sure he knows what he’s doing?’You see, a faith test reveals the true stuff of what’s inside our souls. When our faith goes through a serious test, we get to see, we get to really see, what’s in our hearts.
One of the dangers of the Christian life is that we too often imagine we are people of prayer and people who happily obey, but are we in fact? What we believe must be lived out in reality. So, you will face many choices and opportunities today, to show God through your obedience that you do prefer him. Trials are the best way, the only way, of putting our love for God to the test. Our faith then becomes real.
SHAUNA: Listening friend, if you are in a hard trial right now, and you need encouragement, go to joniradio.org and let us know how we can pray for you. We have a prayer team that meets daily, and it would be our honor to intercede on your behalf. And while you’re there at joniradio.org, be sure to check out all the other radio programs and resources we have there for you. And finally, friend, welcome whatever test may come your way so that you will see, so that you will know the depth of your love and your heart for Jesus. It’s the one test of faith you do not want to fail. And as always, thanks for listening to Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope.
© Joni and Friends