You know my heart. You have come to me at night; you have examined me completely and found no evil desire in me. I speak no evil,

Remember how the LORD your God led you on this long journey through the desert these past forty years, sending hardships to test you, so that he might know what you intended to do and whether you would obey his commands.

In the desert he gave you manna to eat, food that your ancestors had never eaten. He sent hardships on you to test you, so that in the end he could bless you with good things.

do not pay any attention to them. The LORD your God is using them to test you, to see if you love the LORD with all your heart.

Gold and silver are tested by fire, and a person's heart is tested by the LORD.

I have tested you in the fire of suffering, as silver is refined in a furnace. But I have found that you are worthless.

And I will test the third that survives and will purify them as silver is purified by fire. I will test them as gold is tested. Then they will pray to me, and I will answer them. I will tell them that they are my people, and they will confess that I am their God."

Be glad about this, even though it may now be necessary for you to be sad for a while because of the many kinds of trials you suffer.

Their purpose is to prove that your faith is genuine. Even gold, which can be destroyed, is tested by fire; and so your faith, which is much more precious than gold, must also be tested, so that it may endure. Then you will receive praise and glory and honor on the Day when Jesus Christ is revealed.