Sometimes God tells us No to test whether our hearts are faithful and obedient.
My sister’s dog Kaze obediently jumping through hoops
Imagine a master dog trainer who supplies dogs to the ATF, DEA and police is training a newly hired apprentice.
The trainer points to three calmly sitting dogs and says, “We just received these dogs that received their initial training elsewhere. We’re going to test them to see if they’re suitable for us and, if so, what level of training they should receive next. The unimaginative breeders named them Black Dog, Yellow Dog, and Spotted Dog.”
The trainer calls over Black Dog and tests how he obeys basic commands such as sit, stay, and heel, as well as trickier commands such as back up and growl. Then he tells the apprentice to test Yellow Dog and Spotted Dog. All dogs do well.
The trainer says, “Now test their obedience with food.”
The apprentice tells the dogs to sit. They obey. He opens a bag of kibbles and three dog noses twitch and turn his way as the grainy smell fills the air. He plunges a scoop noisily into the bag and the dogs’ ears perk. He pulls out the scoop full of brown bits and pours them with a clatter into three bowls as three pairs of eyes watch. Yellow Dog licks his chops and taps one forepaw on the floor. Finally the apprentice places the bowls before the dogs and commands, “Take it!” All the dogs leap forward and devour the kibbles in minutes.
The trainer says, “That’s not what I meant. That test means nothing because the dogs are doing what dogs do naturally. I can’t tell whether they’re eating because they’re obeying you or their own cravings.”
The trainer refills the bowls with kibble, commands, “Leave it!” and places the bowls before the dogs. Yellow Dog eats his kibbles, but the others sit quietly.
The master trainer says, “That shows me Yellow Dog may not work for us, but it doesn’t show me how obedient the other two are because their bellies are full. Don’t feed the dogs for 24 hours, and then we’ll test them again.”
After 24 hours, the apprentice brings the dogs to the master trainer. Yellow Dog growls and snaps at him, Spotted Dog whines, and Black Dog is quiet.
The trainer says, “Now test them like I showed you yesterday.”
The apprentice commands, “Leave it,” and places bowls of kibble in front of the dogs. Both Yellow Dog and Spotted Dog eat their kibble. Black Dog sits quietly, and Yellow Dog eats Black Dog’s kibble too.
The trainer says, “Now we know Black Dog is obedient from the heart: she’ll obey even when hungry. Give Yellow Dog away, for she won’t meet our needs. Put Spotted Dog in intermediate training. I’ll take Black Dog for now and reward her with a steak, for her desire to obey her master is greater than her desire to obey her hunger. I have great plans for her.”
And so it is with us. God tests us to expose what’s in our hearts. He gives more training to those who need it. And to those who don’t, He entrusts with greater tasks and rewards with eternal riches.
“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” ~1 Peter 1:6-7
“Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.” ~Deuteronomy 8:2
Like many Christians I’d memorized verses such as “all things work together for good” and “give thanks in all circumstances (Rom 8:28, 1Th 5:18). When bad things happened, I’d quote these verses, thank God for the good He would work, and push away questions. Trying to trust God, I did something akin to closing my eyes, putting my hands over my ears, and saying, “Lalalalalal—just have faith—lalalalalala.”