Left to Test
Scripture Reading: Judges 2:16-23
Sometimes we wonder why God has left us to struggle with certain temptations. After all, He blazed the trail. Why didn’t he clear all the rocks? Why do we have to keep watching for trip hazards when it seems like God could have made a straight, paved road on relatively flat ground? But here we are trekking uphill along a narrow path, trying not to trip and go tumbling down the embankment.
When we look at the history of the Hebrews we see that God left offending nations in the Land of Promise as a means to test Israel. It is the possibility of choosing against God that reveals the reality of choosing for Him. It is the opportunity to take a different path that shows the true nature of our following Jesus. Most importantly, the realization of our vulnerability drives us to dependency and faith in the Author and Finisher of our faith.
God leaves some leftovers from our flesh as rocks and stumps along the trail to test us and to reveal to us the necessity to stay close to the Cross, to be filled with the Spirit, to live with repentant hearts, and to show us where we stand in our faith.