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February 21, 2008

Are Tests a Privilege?

by Shana Schutte

I don't know about you, but there are few things I shy away from more than tests. Whether it's an academic one, a financial one, or when my doctor takes my blood. In short, tests make me nervous. With God, though, His tests are always for our good and growth.

In the New International Version of the Bible, Psalm 11:5 reads, "The Lord examines the righteous," while the King James says "The Lord trieth the righteous." The original Hebrew language helps us to understand how we got these two translations. My Old Testment Word Study says that the words "examine" or "trieth" are bachan, which means "to test, prove, examine, search out, purify, to look out, to watch. This word denotes an investigation to determine the essential qualities of an object, especially integrity."

In its entirety, Psalm 11:5 reads, "The Lord examines the righteous, but the wicked and those who love violence his soul hates." When I read this Scripture and the defintion of bachan, I got excited. Why? Because the word "but" indicates that those who don't know God aren't tested by Him in the way that those who know Him are. Therefore, bachan (or testing) is reserved only for the righteous and it's a privilege!

Webster's Dictionary describes a privilege as, "a right or immunity granted as a peculiar benefit, advantage or favor: PEROGATIVE; especially: such a right or immunity attached specifically to a position of office."

The word "peculiar" gives me a chuckle. Examinations and tests can certainly sometimes seem like a peculiar benefit for the person who fills the position of knowing Christ. But that is exactly how God sees them. Tests that come from Him are a privilege of position. God cares enough to bachan and test the hearts of those who know Him because He wants a stronger relationship with us.

If you know Christ, that includes you.

This means that the trial you are currently experiencing is known by God and it may be that He is testing your integrity, doing an investigation of your heart and purifying you. Aren't you glad that He cares enough about you to make you more like Him?

"See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction." (Isaiah 48:10)

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