Testing God

February 25, 2020

DAILY READINGS

Psalm 78
This weekend’s reading:Job 1:6-12

FIELD NOTES

I remember watching some show on the Discovery channel when I was younger.  It was back when Kevlar was becoming more and more useful in body armor design, particularly in bullet-proof vests.  They had a guy standing at one end of a room wearing a Kevlar vest, while on the other side, they had a man with a shotgun loaded with beanbag rounds.  They shot him with the beanbag and dropped him to the floor.  The beanbag was dubbed a nonlethal weapon, yet still did incredible damage, bruising the entire abdomen of the guy.  They were asked why they didn’t shoot it with a real bullet.  They said even though the vest had passed the test on mannequins multiple times, why would they test fate by adding a real person to the test?  What could be gained by risking a possible faulty vest? 

What do we expect to gain by putting God to the test?  When we put demands of performance on God, are we only setting ourselves up for disappointment?  Not because God is unable to perform, but because we have no control over what God chooses to do?  Too often, I think we test God in order to prove one thing or another, and more often than not, we end up holding our shirt.  There is a reason this psalm calls it a sin to test God.

QUESTIONS FOR THE FIELD

• In what ways do we test God?  Why do we put God to the test?

PRAYER GUIDE

Lord, may our faith subvert any need to put you to the test.  May our faith be strong enough to be ok with any doubt that arises, as strange as that may sound.  Forgive us when we fail and put you to the test.  Amen.