2 Chronicles 32:31
"Howbeit in the business of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to enquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart."
One of the most misunderstood phrases in the Scriptures is found in the verse above when it says, "God left him, to try him..."
It is misunderstood because God promises that He will never leave us. Yet, in this verse it says that God left Hezekiah.
To understand this verse let me illustrate by using how a dog is trained. One of the commands you teach a dog is to stay. This is an important command for it builds trust between the owner and the dog. When you first start training the dog to stay, you only go a few feet away and see if they hold their position. As your trust in the dog increases you increase the distance. When your trust in the dog is great, you then leave the dog's sight to see if they will stay. This is all about building the dog's trust in the owner that the owner will not leave them. They may be out of sight, but they will come back.
This is exactly what God did with Hezekiah. No, God did not leave Hezekiah to never return, but He left him to build him so he could be used in a greater way. The sad part about this test is that Hezekiah failed. He didn't do what he was supposed to do, and because of this he lost God's trust.
Just like God left Hezekiah, there are going to be times when God is going to leave you. There are three reasons God is going to leave you. Your goal ought to be to pass the test so God can use you in a greater fashion.
First, God leaves you because He trusts you. A dog owner will only leave the dog in the stay position for the length of time he trusts his dog to do right. Likewise, God leaves His children in different times because He trusts them. You should not wonder why God leaves you, but you should look at it as an honor that He would trust you to the degree to leave you.
Second, God leaves you to test how much trust He can have in you. A dog owner will only leave the dog at the distance he can trust it. If the owner can't trust the dog out of his sight, then he won't leave him out of his sight. God will only leave you to the degree that He can trust you. Your goal should be to let God's trust in you be great enough that He can leave you and not wonder what you are going to do while He is away.
Third, God leaves you so that He can use you in a greater way. The more the dog owner can trust the dog while he is away, the more that dog is useful to the owner. Not only will it be more useful to the owner, but the dog will experience more freedom. God will leave the Christian because He wants to build enough trust so that He can use them more. God only uses a Christian to the degree that He can trust them.
Christian, how much can God trust you? Can God trust you enough that He can leave you, or does He always have to have you at his side? Always remember that you will have more freedom in Christ when He can trust you more. Don't be the type of Christian God can't trust because every time He leaves you mess up. Let God's trust in you be vindicated by doing what you are supposed to do at all times.