Daily Devotional for Thursday, June 22

The Treasure and the Test

“And take the ark of the LORD, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which ye return him for a trespass offering, in a coffer by the side thereof; and send it away, that it may go. And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Bethshemesh, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that smote us: it was a chance that happened to us,” (1 Samuel 6:8-9).

When I was called to pastor my first church, we had to sell our house and move. We had such a hard time selling our house that I began to wonder if I had mistaken God’s call. I tested His calling and told Him that if the house did not sell within a week that it would confirm He did not want me to pastor the church. The house sold the next day, and through it all I realized how God was testing me and teaching me to trust Him.

By taking the ark of God, the Philistines experienced deadly destruction everywhere they took it (1 Samuel 5:9-11). They surmised that God’s hand was against them, so they devised a test and decided to send the ark back to Israel along with treasure as a trespass offering. Like the Philistines, we are tested because of our sin and transgressions but also to test our faith. God’s word tells us “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ, (1 Peter 1:7). God does not want your testing to be a negative but a useful tool that helps keep you on the right path.

JUST A THOUGHT: God does see material things as real treasure in this life but how your faith can bring praise, honor, and glory to Him.

Tim Chambers