July 7

For what is the hope of the godless when he is cut off, when God takes away his life? Will God hear his cry when distress comes upon him? Will he delight in the Almighty? Will he call upon God at all times? — Job 27:8-10 BSB

Many of God’s people sometimes struggle with the fear of being hypocrites, even thinking they may be the greatest hypocrites ever to claim faith. But if you are troubled by these painful suspicions, doubts, and fears, bring two key features of a spiritual life before the Lord, and seek his light. Don’t rely on your hope—it might be as fragile as a spider’s web. Don’t boast of your gifts—they might be purely of the flesh. Don’t lean on the good opinion of others—they might be deceived about you. Instead, ask if you can find these two tests written by God’s own hand in your soul. If so, then you are no hypocrite, and God himself, through his servant Job, has cleared you of the accusation.

First, have you ever “delighted yourself in the Almighty?” This is a serious question. Have your heart and soul ever reached out to the living God? Have affection, love, and gratitude ever flowed from your heart into God’s? Have you ever felt as if you could embrace him with the arms of faith and live or die in his care? If your soul has ever felt this, you are no hypocrite, and nothing that arises from your troubled heart can prove otherwise.

Second, even if you can’t fully grasp this, if you are someone who continually calls on God, you are no hypocrite. I’m not referring to your regular prayers or habits; hypocrites can find comfort in those routines. Rather, I’m asking whether there is a heartfelt sigh or cry to God by night as well as by day—a pouring out of your heart to God in times of trouble, confusion, sorrow, and distress. This is a test that no hypocrite has ever passed or can ever pass.