Are you at times frustrated with waiting? Do you wish action would be taken sooner? Are you tired of barely holding on, waiting for relief to come? Do you ever wonder when God is going to lift you up out of the problems you are experiencing?
We wait in many aspects of our lives. We wait, while working extremely hard, for that big promotion. We wait in check-out lines. We wait for the right person to come into our lives. We wait, and wait, and wait.
We may wonder when Jesus will return. We may hold onto the stories floating around that say it will be soon. Fortunately, no one knows when that will be. The apostles often told people that Jesus would return soon. It’s been nearly two-thousand years and He has not returned yet. We know by reading the book of Revelation that the world will be put under extreme stress with much destruction prior to His return. When comparing what Revelation says will happen to the events of today, it’s like comparing a mole hill to a mountain.
Yet, because of our wait, we may cry out to God. We may yell at Him. We may be tempted to tell Him to fix things or we will no longer believe in Him. That is a sad state to be in. You see, we are not to put God to the test. He will not answer our test. At least, not in the way we want.
As Paul states in today’s passage, when the Israelites tested God in the past, there was punishment that followed. Why? Testing God is being disobedient. It is putting ourselves above Him. It is asking Him to be a genie in a bottle. We must remember that God does not bow to us, but we bow to Him.
I pray we all hold on to our faith in God. I pray we do not put God to the test. I pray each one of us will continue to go about doing the work that God has set before us in faith. Do not test God. Do not bring punishment on yourself. Trust God. Trust His plan. Continue in His work. Hold on to your faith.
1 Corinthians 10:9-10 We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.
Marty Pressey 