There the LORD made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them, saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, your healer.” (Exodus 15:25b-26 ESV)
The 2026 USGA Championship entries are beginning to open. Over 40,000 golfers will apply for a chance to play in a championship through a local qualifier.
Local qualifiers are pass-or-fail tests after one or two rounds of play. Less than five percent of golfers will pass and earn a coveted spot to play. The rest will fail.
In our modern culture, a test typically concludes with a grade or a pass/fail evaluation. The Jewish concept of a test is not one of pass or fail, but rather an opportunity for God’s people to show him what’s in their hearts and to learn new lessons from him.
When the Israelites traveled forty days from the parting of the sea to Mount Sinai (Exodus 15-20), God tested them at least three times: he tested their hearts, souls, and might (sound familiar?).
If we flip over to Deuteronomy eight, verse two, we read Moses saying, “…testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.”
The Hebrew word for know is yada. This knowing is experiential and intimate. It is not about how much we understand in our minds.
We yada God, and he yada’s us by experiencing our lives with him. Like any relationship, it requires time, intentionality, humility, and honesty. He’s not looking for the correct answers on the multiple-choice test.
When God tests our hearts, we get to be more honest with him. Maybe we are struggling and emotionally down, or we might be riding a mountain-high and soaring with the wind.
God wants to know our hearts. We also get to show him how we care for others through kindness and generosity.
On the flip side, a test of our hearts opens us to learn what God is doing in us. How is my faith growing? Is his good fruit shaping my attitudes and actions? What is God teaching me?
This giving and receiving experience of God testing our hearts is meant to return us back to his desires: that we would listen to his voice, that we would do what is right in his eyes (not ours), and that we listen attentively with the intent to obey his teachings.
The lessons the Israelite’s learned through God’s testing should encourage us today to embrace when God tests our hearts. This is an experience, not a pass/fail grade.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for the ancient stories in your Word that give us hope and a future. Help me to have the eyes to see and the ears to hear the testing of my heart.