Test me and know my anxious thoughts, Psalm 139:24
Tests have a bad rap. We can blame it on school, and they probably did make us think about tests in a bad way. Actually, tests are good. Tests reveal what you know. Tests reveal what is true or pure. Tests alert you to problems. Without that knowledge, we deny, ignore, or pretend to our own undoing.
Professionals take tests to validate their readiness to use their skills in a broader way. They aren’t fun, but they are necessary. Some medical tests are painful but when they reveal a problem that can be addressed, they are worth the discomfort.
Requesting God to test your heart and make you face your anxious thoughts means you want to examine them from God’s perspective, not yours. There is great wisdom in requesting this test! Anxious thoughts, better known as worry, skew our thinking, distract us from the focus God wants for us, and often push us to wrong choices. Knowing what worries us allows us to take worries back to God, lay them before His unlimited resources, and understand that fear about the unknown is unnecessary when you look into the face of the One who knows the future.
God does not lead us into temptation but He will test us. We need His test to reveal the anxious thoughts that will trap us, paralyze us, or detour us. While he make not take away the problem or make hard places easier, He reminds us there is not a forward step we take that He has not prepared us for.
Today, pray this prayer early in your day and often. Listen for God to remind you that His strength empowers yours. Never let an anxious thought blind you to your strength or God’s.
