From the beginning, God blessed Adam and gave him reign over the earth. Then the test came. The snake brought an opportunity for him to choose God. It was Adam’s opportunity to show his faithfulness to God, but he failed.  He failed to trust God. (Genesis 3:13)

This template can be seen repeatedly throughout the story of the bible.

Blessings – Testing – Failure

God blessed Moses to lead his people out of slavery. However, when the opportunity presented itself, he too, failed God. He was supposed to trust God as he was led through the wilderness. But in that one instance, Moses failed to listen to God, so he never entered the promised land. He failed in that instance to trust God. (Deuteronomy 32:51-52)

Israel was rescued from slavery and given this covenant promised by God. But when their test came, they utterly failed. They were supposed to trust God to provide for them in the wilderness. God would have supplied all their needs even if they didn’t complain, yet they did. They failed to trust God even after seeing his great power (Exodus 16:1-3).

David loved God, and you see it all over the bible. According to God, he was a man after God’s heart (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22). Yet, David still failed. David went after another man’s wife, and he caused the death of her husband. David knew God yet still failed him (2 Samuel 11:2-4, 2 Samuel 11:15-17).

Solomon faithfully served God, and God blessed him with great wisdom, riches, and honour. But eventually, Solomon, too, failed God. Maybe the riches and honour were his tests because it was through this that he was led away from God. As a result, he failed to trust God (1 Kings 11:1-6).

But Jesus came to break the mould. Jesus came, and he was tested at the beginning of his ministry. He fasted for 40 days and 40 nights, and the devil tested him. However, each time he overcame the devil with the word of God. He trusted God and his word. He showed us that it is possible to pass the test and overcome the devil (Matthew 4:1-4), but we cannot do it without God.

So, some questions worth pondering are: When tests come up in our lives do we overcome and pass? When presented with that thing that looks good but is something that will draw us away from God, do we trust God and say no? Do we use the word of God to overcome, or do we crumble in the pressure and forget God?