The company that I work for as a store manager hires another company to inspect our stores. This inspection is unscheduled and very rigorous, and stores usually score in the mid 80’s to 90’s. When the company conducts their unannounced inspection, they want to catch you off guard, so you have to consistently ensure that your store is clean and ready, and that it manifests outstanding personal performance.

Over the last few months, many stores within the San Diego area have been having their inspections, but I hadn’t received mine until last week.

A few weeks ago I was on a conference call with my Regional Director and two District Managers, inquiring whether I was ready for the upcoming inspection. We went over a list of the top 20 most missed areas in stores. Near the end of the phone call the Regional Director asked me what score I would receive if my store was to be audited that day. I told him we would receive close to a hundred percent.

Last Thursday morning, I specifically asked God to please send us the inspection soon, as I felt good about where my store was in regard to its cleanliness status. I also asked Him to help us to achieve a good score. As I arrived at work and started my day, I told the employees that we would get audited that day. They laughed, and we went through the day, doing the things we needed to do.

As I had reached the end of my shift, clocked out and sat there, waiting for a drink to be made for me, I saw a lady in a blue shirt walk into our store, wearing a badge. My heart skipped a beat! Our inspection had actually arrived virtually at the last minute and on the very same day when I had earnestly prayed about it. I introduced myself to the lady as the store manager. She went ahead and started the inspection, as I waited nervously, saying quiet prayers. She finally came back to me with the result–an amazing 97%–which will greatly contribute to a year’s end bonus in addition to the bonus that I had recently received. As my wife has just delivered our baby, any additional income is helpful.

I can’t help but comparing our lives with this inspection. We have to be constantly cleaning, evaluating and eliminating the dirt in our lives. We don’t know the exact time when Christ will return, even though we do know that the time is near. If we give up and stop trying because it seems to be too hard and not worth the battle, then we will definitely lose out. And when the “inspection” comes, our score won’t be great. We can’t be like the unprofitable servant, burying his talent and not putting it to work. We must bear fruit. Otherwise, we would be like Peter before his conversion, when he walked on water for a short while, but when he focused on the wind and the roaring waves, his faith diminished and he sank.

If we are persistent, look to God and put our faith and confidence in Him, we will never have to worry about failing and about not making it. Christ told us that we can have total trust in Him, as He won’t let us down. 1 Peter 5:7 tells us to cast “all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you.”

How strongly do we believe this Scripture? Or the one in Hebrews 4:16, which says: “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we  may obtain MERCY and find GRACE to help in time of need”? Our time of need is now! Satan is walking about like a roaring lion, with great wrath, seeking whom he may destroy and devour (1 Peter 5:8). He will try to discourage us and to cast doubt and despair, attempting to convince us that we should give up. We must resist him by being steadfast in the faith (verse 9).

When we submit to God, Satan will flee from us (James 4:7). When we stay close to God, He WILL help us (compare Matthew 17:20; 6:30-33). Isaiah 55:6 warns us to seek God while He may be found. Our faithful prayers are not in vain. God hears them. And He may answer in most unexpected, surprising and unannounced ways. We just have to have the patience and the faith that He will intervene for us in His time.

In Proverbs 27: 7, King Solomon stated: “A satisfied soul loathes the honeycomb, But to a hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.”

This ancient proverb is very relevant today, even though its meaning may not be all that clear at first sight. The New Ungers Bible Dictionary explains that the word “honey” is used in the Bible to “denote sweet discourse,” and that the “Word of God is compared to honey and described as spiritually delectable.” Psalms 119:103-104 confirms this, saying, “How sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way.”

But why would–and how could–a satisfied soul “loathe” honey? And more to the point, could we in the Church of God adopt an attitude of “loathing” the “Word of God”? The answer is simply “yes”–and this is so because of our “human nature.” God was aware of our tendency to forget Him and “loathe” His Word. He inspired Moses to write a warning for ancient Israel, which also applies today to the modern descendants of Israel and to spiritual Israel–the Church of God.

In Deuteronomy 8:11, He says through Moses: “Beware that you DO NOT FORGET the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today…” He continues in verses 14-19: “… when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God… who fed you in the wilderness… [and] you say in your heart, ‘MY power and the might of MY hand have gained me this wealth,’ [then] you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth… Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the LORD your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them,  I testify against you this day that you shall perish.”

It is within human nature to forget God and His Word–to “loathe” His Way of life–and to return to sin. Solomon is warning us that it is possible to become so satisfied with our own accomplishments that we can become self-sufficient, instead of relying on God. In the end time, this tendency will be predominant in the church of the Laodiceans. In Revelation 3:16, Christ says that He will vomit luke-warm Church members out of His mouth. Continuing in verse 17, Christ describes the true nature and condition of the “satisfied” and “self-sufficient” soul which “loathes” the Word of God–without even realizing it: “Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’–and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked…” (Compare James 1:22-24).

But Solomon is not only warning those who “loathe” God and His Word, he is also giving encouragement and praise to those who do not fall into this trap. He continues to say in Proverbs 27:7: “…But to a hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.” When we are hungry for God and His Way of Life, we will consider even “bitter” experiences as “sweet” and necessary; realizing that they are happening to us to help us to become more and more perfect.

Notice how Christ continues with His strong reproof to the Laodiceans, in Revelation 3:18-19: “I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. AS MANY AS I LOVE, I REBUKE AND CHASTEN. Therefore be zealous and repent.”

Job was self-righteous and thought that he could do no wrong. Without realizing it, he “loathed” and rejected God’s chastening. But after God allowed him to be “put in his place,” he came to comprehend how wrong he was. He had to go through severe tests. He had to reach the point where his soul was hungry for God’s chastisement in his life, understanding that it was necessary for his perfection.

We need to be careful not to exclude God from our lives. Christ is not “in the lives” of the Laodiceans; rather, He is standing outside–at the door; knocking; wanting to be let in (Revelation 3:20). We must never forget that “every good gift” –including tests and trials–comes from above. We need to keep in mind that the bitterness of God’s tests and trials is shaping our character and helping us to grow and to overcome. Revelation 3:21 contains this promise: “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”

Our future is right in front of us. Let us never think that we have no need for growth and spiritual perfection. Let us never “loathe” God’s Way and HIS Will for us, and let us embrace the “bitterness” of God’s trials, considering them as “sweet” and counting them as “joy” (James 1:2).