# 195 Testing By Withdrawal

The Book of Genesis

Day 195

Ge 22:1 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." 2 Then He said, "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you."

Let’s continue our discussion of the testings of God today by looking at some other classic examples in Scripture.

In 2Ch 32:31 we read of the testing of Hezekiah. “God withdrew from him, in order to test him, that He might know all that was in his heart.” Sometimes God tests us by withdrawing from us, leaving us on our own for a time to see how we respond. (Remember the first time you left your teenagers at home while you went away for the weekend? How’d that work out for you? Did they pass or fail? If they passed the test it shows them that they have a proper fear (reverence) for you, if not….well they’ve got some work to do in that area.)

In Hezekiah’s case, there was no specific command given to him, but certain circumstances were brought into his life to see how he would react. Specifically, some ambassadors from Babylon came to visit Hezekiah. God withdrew and observed the condition of Hezekiah’s heart. He failed miserably, as out of pride and misplaced priorities; he showed the ambassadors all the treasures of the kingdom. It was a “Look what I got,” attitude, as opposed to a “Look what God has given me.”

Then there’s the testing of Job. God withdrew some of His protection from Job to see how he would react. After losing all of his material possessions and his family, Job was grieved, but even in his grief, he was able to say, “ Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.”  And the Bible tells us, “In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.”

God withdrew still more protection from Job and he was struck with terribly painful sores, and again he endured. It was out of this affliction that Job realized he had a distorted view of God. This affliction eventually caused him to confess, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eyes see You. Therefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes.”

Sometimes God tests us by withdrawing from us and in the withdrawing, the true condition of our heart is revealed because it shows God (and more importantly us) how we react when He is not around.  Someone has rightly defined integrity as doing the right thing even when no one else is around.

The testings of Abraham, Hezekiah, and Job were not for God’s benefit….He already knew their hearts, rather they were an opportunity for Abraham, Hezekiah, and Job to see the condition of their hearts.  How instructive for you and I when those seasons come into our own lives when we find ourselves wondering where God is!

Pray: Holy Spirit go so deep in my heart that I may be a person of integrity.