The Purpose of Testing

Today, I'm going to make a further application of this story. I'm going to speak on the purpose of testing. You see, the question in our lives is not whether we will experience testing, but only how we will respond to the testing.

The testing there at Marah exposed an area in the character of the Israelites that needed to be dealt with. An area that was expressed in grumbling. Let me tell you this, that the Bible has nothing good anywhere to say about grumbling. And grumbling is a way not to solve your problems, but to magnify them. It's not the way out of your problems to grumble.

And if when you come under pressure, you begin to grumble, then you are like the Israelites. There's an area in your character that needs to be dealt with. God knew that area was there all along, but he had to let you come to the bitter pool so that you'd find out what was really inside you. You see, that act of grumbling indicates lack of faith, lack of gratitude, self-centeredness, a lot of things that are serious problems and that hinder our further progress in the Lord.

The Lord had a lot further for Israel to go than the pool of Marah. He really was taking them to the land that he'd promised. But they weren't fit to make the full journey to the promised land until that thing in their character which was exposed at Marah had been dealt with. So when you come to your Marah, your bitter waters, and you begin to grumble, realize that there's something in you that has to be dealt with. And God brought you to that place that he might deal with that thing. But he can only deal with it if you cooperate.

You see, the Bible warns us clearly that we are going to experience testing. It's stated many times. One particularly clear passage is in the epistle of James chapter 1 verses 2 through 4.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.”

I never read those words without asking myself, is that how I react to trials of many kinds? Is that how you react to trials of many kinds? When you're walking with the Lord and you're confronted with all sorts of trials, do you consider it pure joy? Do you say, Hallelujah, praise God for this trial?

Or do you do what the Israelites did, begin to grumble? Lord, why did you let that happen to me? God, I thought you had this situation in control. Now I don't know what to do. Let me read on what James says.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

See, one essential element in Christian character is perseverance. Until we achieve perseverance, there are goals in God which we can never attain to. And perseverance is brought out by testing our faith. You see, there's really only one way to learn perseverance, and that is by persevering. And in order to persevere, you have to be in a situation where perseverance is needed.

James says,

“perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

That's God's goal for you. Mature, fully grown up, complete, a fully rounded Christian character, not lacking anything. Do you want that? Do you want to be mature and complete, not lacking anything? How could you wish anything else? All right, then you have to go through the processes. And the process may include your particular Marah, your particular bitter pool.

You see, when you come to the bitter pool, there's just two alternative responses. The people grumbled. That was the response of unbelief. Moses prayed. That was the response of faith. Which will you do? Next time you come to that bitter pool, which are you going to do? On the shore of that bitter pool, Moses prayed. He cried out to the Lord. There was no other source of help but the Lord. And when Moses took that course to pray rather than to grumble, the response of faith rather than the response of unbelief, God responded with a new revelation of himself.

And that was God's purpose in bringing Israel to that bitter pool. He had something for them to learn. And he set them in a context, a situation where the revelation he had for them would be appropriate. He responded with a revelation of himself. It was a double revelation, and I'm going to deal with that more fully in my following talks this week. First of all, he revealed to them the tree, the means of healing. Second, and more important still, he revealed to them himself in a new aspect, the Lord their healer. That was his ultimate objective in that experience at the bitter pool.

But today, I just want to point out to you the principle. The principle has been summed up very succinctly in a statement that I heard somebody make once, and actually, I really didn't like the statement when I heard it the first time because I thought, you know, this doesn't suggest that life is going to be the way I'd like it to be. But the statement was this: Man's disappointments are God's appointments.

I've said already that disappointment is one of the things that nearly all of us face, and disappointment really is bitter. It is a bitter pool. When you've had your hopes set high and you're moving forward and everything seems to be going right, and then it all falls apart, it crumbles, and you're left with nothing but disappointed hopes. That's a bitter pool.

But what I want you to grasp today, I really want you to take this in. God led you to that bitter pool. He has something good for you at the bitter pool if you'll respond the right way. Man's disappointments are God's appointments.

We, it's something to do with human nature, but when everything's going well and life is pretty easy, most of us tend to be somewhat superficial. We'll be content with the status quo. We'll be content to go to church and pay our tithes and say our prayers and lead a fairly respectable kind of life. But God has got something much further and much deeper for us. And so, somehow or other, he gets us to the bitter pool. And in the depths of agony and disappointment, we cry out as Moses cried, and then we get that much deeper and fuller revelation of God, which only comes on the shores of the bitter pool.

So if you've faced a bitter pool, or if you're facing a bitter pool, just bear in mind that your disappointment is God's appointment.