When the Israelites were in the wilderness, Moses said to them, “He [God] gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestral had never known, to humble and to test you so that it might go well with you” (Deut. 8:16).

God could have given the children of Israel the type of bread or food they were familiar with,  but He chose to give them manna, the miraculous “bread of heaven”, a small round substance which tasted like nothing they had ever eaten before (Ps. 78:24, Ex. 16:14,31).

At times the Lord will allow us into territories or places we are unfamiliar with or undergo experiences we have never had before for the purpose of us being humbled and tested, so that “in the end” it might go well with us.

If you have something so precious to you, will you be willing to give it away if God asks you to? Abraham was tested after God gave him Isaac, his much awaited son. God told him to kill Isaac and Abraham did not hesitate, he went ahead to make the preparations. God however stopped Abraham just before he killed Isaac and provided a ram to replace him. As a result of Abraham’s obedience, God’s covenant blessings to him and his descendants were confirmed by God (Gen. 22:1-18).

This ought to encourage us to surrender all to the Lord sacrificially, because His principles are to reward those who diligently seek Him and to cause us to reap what we sow for His sake. God is always searching for those who will make a choice to be fully committed to Him regardless of the circumstances, in other words in good times or in times of hardship or affliction. Being fully committed to the LORD means allowing chastening and being quick to acknowledge and confess our sins. In addition, we are willing to live sacrificially or forgo what pleases us for what pleases God.