Trusting God? Or Testing God?

When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, he quoted the Scriptures—but he left something out. He said, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone’ " (Matthew 4:6).

He quoted Psalm 91, which says, "For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone" (verses 11–12). Notice Satan left out the words "to keep you in all your ways." Why? If you look at it contextually, these verses are effectively saying that when you’re in the will of God, you don’t have to be afraid. You can trust the Lord.

Satan was essentially saying, "Just jump off, and the angels will catch you."

But Jesus put it into context, saying, "It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God’ " (Matthew 4:7).

You don’t have to get up every morning and say, "I might die today." Yes, you might—but not if God doesn’t want you to. The Lord knows the date of your birth and the date of your death. You can be confident in Him. I believe that Christians are indestructible until God is done with them.

That doesn’t mean we go out and drink strychnine or play with venomous snakes. But it does mean that if it is not a Christian’s time, then he or she isn’t going anywhere. There is a difference between trusting the Lord and testing the Lord by taking unnecessary risks.

We don’t have to live in fear, because our times are in His hands.