No to Test! Yes to Taste!!

"It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test'."

(Matthew 4:7)

This is the verse Lord Jesus Christ uttered when He was taken to the holy city and was made to stand on the highest point of the temple of God by Satan. If we read the question put by Satan for which this was Jesus' reply, we can understand that Jesus neither bothered to answer Satan's question. Instead He stopped Satan to proceed further. Satan has asked Him to do or act as stated in the Word of God ("throw yourself down. For it is written: 'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone'." -- v. 6). But Jesus neither he did and proved that He is the Son of God nor he replied to that particular question. Instead He replied back saying "Do not put the Lord your God to the test".

We are being questioned by many people and we also give answers to them, some appropriate and some other out of context, some accepted and some other defended. But still questions and answers are there in our day-to-day life. Here we have to know why Jesus gave Satan an altogether-different reply. Before going through that, let all of us to understand that at times we too may face such a situation where we may be asked to prove the power of God in our life. There may be circumstances where not only in our spiritual, but also in our worldly, life we may be posed with various questions. And can we take a moment to thing few questions and the replies we have made.

If we look into this context, Satan took Jesus into the holy city, and made Him to stand in the highest point. Here we have to understand that we too may be made to stand in the highest point in our life and questioned to prove. The place we stand may be the highest – but still we have to be steadfast. Replying to the questions being posed is a must, but what reply are we going to make?

Why Jesus made such a statement?

The words Satan quoted Jesus is from the Word of God, which Jesus also knows that. This is not the only promise made by our God, there are thousands and thousands of promises made to His children – and there are numerous examples that are standing as living testmonies proclaiming the power of God. Jesus too knows them and Himself is the Son of God. He very well knows that His Father who has promised is true and faithful. He too very well knows how He leads His people through promises and grace. Satan also knows that God the Father who is the only One who can save His people created in His own image is much more careful enough to save His only begotten Son who was sent to this very earth for salvation. But Satan wants to know what would be Jesus' notion to this question.

Here Jesus has been questioned to prove two things: (1) He is the Son of God and (2) the Word of God is true and God is faithful to all His promises made. Jesus would have verily done and proved these questions. But He did not. Why? What do His reply meant?

Jesus knows for sure that God the Father is the one who sent Him to the earth as a Savior. He was made to sit on the right-side of the Throne. He is the only begotten Son whom God the Father loved the most. He was with His Father when He guided His people, when He sheltered His people, when He protected His people, when He blessed His people, when He guarded His people. Jesus who knows all the ways of His Father also knows that it is not necessary to prove by actions that He is faithful in His promises. However, He knows that in real-life situations, God the Father who is filled with mercy and grace is good enough to guard us, to protect us, etc. It is not necessary for Jesus to act, make His Father to safe guard Him and to proclaim that He is faithful in keeping the promises made.

Dear beloved people of God, let us think about our thoughts when we are in such a situation, when we are being posed with a number of questions about the power of God in our life, about God's promises, about His strength; not necessarily when our life seems to be a failure. How we react to them. At times, we ourselves may feel that why nothing happened in our life though many have  been promised to us. In times of pain and sufferings, in times of temptations, we may be thrown to a situation where only a miracle will increase our faith in God. How we react in those times? Are we expecting Him to do something miraculously so as to increase our faith or to prove Himself as the only God to us and to our people? We may also been posed with questions such as "why your situations are unchanged, yet telling that you worship a true and living God?" and wonder why our God's promises are not fulfilling?

Just take a moment and understand that it is not necessary for our God to do something miraculously in our life in order to prove that He is the only God. He is able to do every thing – doing something miraculously will not help increase our faith. Take the example of Peter: He posed a question to Jesus to walk in water and he did. But was his faith got increased? No! 

So let us just wait on the Lord. Have faith on His promises. let us not ask God to prove Himself in our life, not ask God to be faithful in His promises. He is the one who promised us. He is the one who called us. He is the one who is our dear Father. He will  guide us. So let us cheer up. His grace will sustain us. He will give us the necessary grace to handle our situations. Instead let us not ask God to do miraculous signs and wonders in your life to prove Himself. He is good all the time!

So please let us not test and see God, rather taste and see that He is good. Amen!