God Left Him, To Try Him

There is an interesting verse in 2 Chronicles that describes something that happened to Hezekiah towards the end of his life.  It’s the last description of his life in that book, and it states this: “Howbeit in the business of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to inquire 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” (2 Chronicles 32:31).  I wish we had more details about the story around this, for there doesn’t seem to be any information about what happened with these “ambassadors of the princes of Babylon” but I think the last statement still teaches us something  important.  Even though we hope to have the Spirit with us always—and the promise of the Sacrament suggests that this is what we should strive for—I think the Lord sometimes still leaves us so that He can try us and see what is in our heart.  We know of course that this is exactly what happened to the Savior.  When He was in the final hours of His life on the cross, the Father withdrew His presence and Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46).  Part of the price He paid apparently involved showing perfect faithfulness despite being utterly alone.  Surely we will likewise have to, in some small measure, similarly face trials in which the Lord seeks to see all that is in our heart.  

                In Abraham we read that one of the purposes of coming to earth was, according to the Father, “to see if [we] will do all things whatsoever the Lord [our] God shall command [us]” (Abraham 3:25).  It seems fitting that this verse would be in Abraham, for he was so tested with the ultimate challenge as the Lord commanded him to slay his son Isaac.  Surely that was a test for which the Lord left him to try him and see all that was in his heart.  And according to modern scripture, we must be prepared to face a similar challenge: “Therefore, they must needs be chastened and tried, even as Abraham, who was commanded to offer up his only son” (D&C 101:4).  On another occasion the Lord told Joseph, “for I did it, saith the Lord, to prove you all, as I did Abraham, and that I might require an offering at your hand, by covenant and sacrifice” (D&C 132:51).  We will in some way have to face Abrahamic tests, and in such we might have occasion to wonder if the Lord has left us.  Isaiah suggests that He just may: “For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee” (3 Nephi 22:7).  Ultimately the Lord will never leave us for good, but we may have “small moments” in which it seems that there is no “balm in Gilead”.  And in those moments we trust that though “the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed,” the Lord’s “kindness shall not depart from [us]” (3 Nephi 22:10).