Some good thoughts here from Mary DeMuth:
I believe it’s an American idea (that’s been oddly spun by prosperity gospel adherents) that if you obey God, blessings will always follow. Success will be yours. Your ultimate life awaits you. I believe striving after success (in terms of the world’s standards) in this life is sorely misguided and misplaced. The heroes of the faith obeyed and often pretty terrible things happened to them. I love this verse in Hebrews: “And all these things, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God has provided something better for us” (Hebrews 11:39-40). Our ultimate reward awaits us in heaven...
The deeper issue is trust. Will I trust Jesus to lead me, even when His leading looks like failure? Do I love Him enough to follow Him down that road? Or will I only follow Him where success looms on the horizon like a beckoning sunrise?
(Read her entire post here)
Moreover [let us also be full of joy now!] let us exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance. And endurance (fortitude) develops maturity of character (approved faith and tried integrity). And character [of this sort] produces [the habit of] joyful and confident hope of eternal salvation. Romans 5:3-4, Amplified Bible
I need to follow my Lord whether it's easy or not - and it's only by continually choosing this path (over what my fleshly little mind says I should do) that I can look a bit more like Jesus. And that's the type of character that I want others to see in me!!
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2 comments:
Thanks for the link and for posting some of my wrestlings. I do pray God would comfort many who feel like they've failed or missed God.
Thanks for sharing this thought. There are churches today that spread a prosperity gospel message, material prosperity...and the underlying thought is that if your faith is strong, then your prosperity will be great, and if you don't have that prosperity, then your faith must not be strong enough. What message does that send to those who are suffering around the world?...Our treasures are hid in heaven, now and forever. Now, because we have that hope secured in Jesus Christ. Forever, because that's the promise.
Anyway, thanks for sharing this post!!!
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