Prosperity preachers on TV teach that if you love Christ and follow God’s laws, good health, financial abundance, and blessings will be your reward.
Those teachings can be untrue and DANGEROUS.
After all, the Apostle Peter, the Apostle Paul, and our Savior Jesus all suffered greatly. And we all know good Christians who have gone through trials and tribulations.
The truth is that there is value in the trials that God sends us. These trials are not sent to punish us, but to purify and strength us. They will ultimately draw us closer to Christ.
Psalms 119:71
It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn your statutes.
It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn your statutes.
Our relationship with God is NOT TRANSACTIONAL. Our reward for loving Christ and following God’s laws is simply a closer relationship with Christ. There IS no greater reward than that. God’s blessings to us are gifts. And strangely enough, so are His trials (Romans 5:3-5). If you want proof that God’s blessings are NOT transactional, just read the Book Of Job.
Also, the idea that we should wait for God’s burdens is not proactive. We should actively seek out trials because of our love of Christ and our neighbor.
Galatians 6:2
Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Let’s face it; helping those in need is work and it can cost us. Christ commands us to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, and welcome strangers (Matthew 25:34-36). This comes at a price. It could be money, energy, or time.
But seeking out those burdens truly brings us closer to our neighbors and closer to Christ. And just as important as giving is GIVING CHEERFULLY (2 Corinthians 9:6-8). It is in joyfully accepting burdens in love of neighbor that we bestow contentment to God.
The Creator is good who does good. Everything that happens to us is in accordance with God’s desire to do good for His creation (Romans 8:28).
Romans 8:18
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which will be revealed toward us.
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which will be revealed toward us.
Trials sent by God perfect us. They teach us how to be patient and endure. Faithfully embracing God’s burdens stores up true treasure. This treasure is not the fleeting rewards of this lifetime. God has eternal treasures and joy for us. We just have to be willing to see God’s challenges with spiritual eyes. These sufferings are not problems; they are the pressure that turns coal into diamonds.
2 Corinthians 4:17-18
For our light affliction, which is for the moment, works for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory, 18 while we don’t look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
For our light affliction, which is for the moment, works for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory, 18 while we don’t look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
