Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Today let’s examine submitting to an anxiety test.

Psalms 139:23‭-‬24 (NLT) prays…
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

Consider…
One of the common requirements of getting hired for a new job is passing a drug test. In fact some employers perform random drug tests of their employees.

Have you ever wondered, what’s the purpose of a drug test? According to Quest Diagnostics, drug testing programs aim to filter out drug users and deter drug use in the workplace. Quest also points out drug testing can help to improve employee morale and productivity while decreasing absenteeism, accidents, downtime, turnover and theft.

This information tells me the primary purpose of drug test is to predict the reliability and dependability of potential and existing employees.

With that understanding, I read, “test me and know my anxious thoughts” again, and have concluded the Psalmist is saying, test me God to see if my anxious thoughts make me unreliable or undependable to You.

Another test that comes to mind is a dru sobriety test. This test is administered by police if they see someone driving erratic or dangerously. The purpose of this test is to determine if a person is driving impaired, which endangers themself and others.

Returning to today’s scripture again, I see the Psalmist pray “point out anything in me that offends you.” It’s like saying, let me know if my anxious thoughts have me acting or reacting erratically to what You allow in my life.

You see, anxiety can be offensive to God, because it reveals we doubt His nature and character. It says either I don’t completely believe God can take care of my situation, or even cares about me at all. How do you think God, who has numbered every hair on your head, and loves you so much that He gave His only begotten Son to save you, feels about your questioning of His concern for you?

We also know that our anxiety may offend God, based on the tone of Jesus’ admonishment in Matthew 6:25‭-‬30 (ERV)…
“So I tell you, don’t worry about the things you need to live—what you will eat, drink, or wear. Life is more important than food, and the body is more important than what you put on it. Look at the birds. They don’t plant, harvest, or save food in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. Don’t you know you are worth much more than they are? You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it. “And why do you worry about clothes? Look at the wildflowers in the field. See how they grow. They don’t work or make clothes for themselves. But I tell you that even Solomon, the great and rich king, was not dressed as beautifully as one of these flowers. If God makes what grows in the field so beautiful, what do you think he will do for you? It’s just grass—one day it’s alive, and the next day someone throws it into a fire. But God cares enough to make it beautiful. Surely he will do much more for you. Your faith is so small!

Jesus’ last statement describes God’s issue with anxiety the best. He said, “your faith is so small!” With that statement, the Holy Spirit showed me that faith and anxiety can’t coexist. Either we believe God for it or we’re anxious about it. The Psalmist was asking God to measure his faith and trust by evaluating his anxiety and doubt.

Remember, the purpose of a test is to reveal one’s proficiency or mastery of a subject. Testing our anxious thoughts reveals the level of our faith and trust in God. So God’s anxiety test is really a faith test. And the goal of God’s faith test is to develop our complete trust and dependence on Him. James 1:3‭-‬4 (NLT) explains…
For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

Eight verses later, we read…
God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. – James 1:12 NLT

The word endurance keeps jumping out in the James passages. Notice James says we’re tested to see if we will endure. I believe that endurance, in context of today’s scripture, is about maintaining unwavering faith in God in the midst of anxious moments in our lives.

Notice I said unwavering, versus perfect faith. Omniscient God knows our faith won’t be perfect until we get to the other side of Glory. That means He understands that the resolve of faith may be severely tested at times and the weight may be overwhelming, He is saying remain steadfast in your trust in Him no matter what. That’s what enduring of faith looks like, believing anyhow… and the good news is that God won’t hold our faith shortcomings against us. We see that in this exchange between Jesus and a desperate father in Mark 9:21‭-‬24 (NLT)…
“How long has this been happening?” Jesus asked the boy’s father. He replied, “Since he was a little boy. The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.” “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”

Notice the key points of the exchange…

• The father went to Jesus for help, just like we do.
• Jesus simply asked how long the issue has lingered. In the same way, Jesus asks if we’re tired of struggling.
• However, in the father’s answer, he added “help us if you can”. Don’t we ask God if He can, or don’t pray at all because we don’t believe He will?
• It’s in Jesus’ response I see Him being offended. He said, “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” I believe He responds to us the same way when we question His ability or willingness to help.

Praise God, His response doesn’t stop with the incredulous, “‘If I can’?” retort. Rather, God in His infinite grace, mercy and love reminded that father, and us, that “Anything is possible if a person believes.”

Yet again, God emphasizes, you gotta have faith.

Notice the father’s response to Jesus’ statement. Scripture says that…
The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”

Do you see it, the teetering father INSTANTLY straightened when Jesus told him that anything is possible if a person believes. When the Holy Spirit reminds you who God is and how much He loves you, what’s your instant response? Do you remain bent over in anxiety or do you straighten up in faith? The father instantly cried out, “I believe, but help me overcome my unbelief.” That tells me, It’s okay to admit to God we’re a little short on faith. Ironically, that admission is a demonstration of faith in itself.

So today, like the Psalmist, ask God to test your anxious thoughts, AND like the struggling father, ask Him to help you overcome your unbelief.

That completes our examination of God’s anxiety test. Pencils down and faith up. Keep your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of your faith (Hebrews 12:2).

Today’s song is…
I Believe, Help My Unbelief
https://youtu.be/atOzBNy-0_M?si=Q28_hznj51zshlDI

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)