Day 26 Bible Reading

Job 4-7, Matthew 19: 1-15, Psalm 17: 1-6

Psalm 17: 3 (ESV)

“You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night, you have tested me, and you will find nothing; I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.”

Verse 3 from Psalm 17 made me pause in thought when I read the commentary on Psalm 17 by Pastor David Guzik (enduringword.com).  Pastor David wrote that David was referring to the test in previous psalms which he said he passed. Pastor David also said that there are three (3) questions that every Christian must ask themselves: 1) Do I allow God to test my heart; 2) Can I be corrected; and 3) Will I listen to others when they tell me I may be wrong?” I believe God has tested my heart and I did allow myself to be corrected, but I don’t think I was very joyful about it. When I experienced God’s testing, it was hard. I knew I was being tested by God, and it pained me because I didn’t know why at the time. And I think testing for my happened when God didn’t answer my prayers right away. It felt like God was ignoring me and it hurt. It was hard to keep my faith in the middle of the test. But God always answered me at what seemed like the very last minute of the very last hour, when I had all but given up hope that I would receive an answer. And when I was in this state of holding on to the slimmest of hope, a sense of peace would always come over me. I knew that whatever happened was always going to be for the best, that it might take a long time, maybe even years to feel that way, but I would eventually come to know that it was all for the best. And when my prayers were answered, most of the time I felt like it happened at the exactly right time and place. It felt like God waited for me to come to a sense of peace so no matter what happened, my faith would still be intact and strong and I would be in a state of total surrender to his will and his plan. It’s a paradoxical state of being to be in surrender to God’s will, because you have to be okay that you might not get what you want but what God does give you will be in your best interest always.