We have believed a deception about our faith. Preachers have subtly hinted at it. Worship songs have declared it. Bible passages have been taken out of context to support it. And it slowly erodes our confidence, because our life is simply not reflective of this pseudo-truth. What am I speaking of?
We have been taught if we are faithful in our walk with God, our lives will be free of problems. Conversely, if we have problems in our life OF ANY KIND, it is because we have some unconfessed sin, some immaturity, some imperfect view of God. In short, problems are sent by God to discipline us because we have issues.
This is simply not true. None of the biblical narratives support this fallacy. Think about it for just a moment. Abraham was blessed with great wealth, but also with great challenges. His wife was seduced by powerful men. He needed to rescue his relative from enemy capture. He was childless until well past Social Security age. Then he was asked to kill his son to prove his commitment to God. This is no simple life.
And Abraham is not the exception, but rather proves the rule.
Jacob had to work for seven years to EARN his wife, and then “won” the wrong woman. After seven more years, he was able to marry the woman he loved, but that was only the beginning. Two sisters, one husband? Sounds like the making of a modern day reality show, and it was just that too. Jealousies and anger and bargaining for sexual favors and playing favorites and deception was all in a day’s work for this family.
Joseph was sold into slavery because of this jealousy, along with some ill-advised dream-sharing of his own. After working hard for a period in Potiphar’s house, and honoring the woman of the house by NOT sleeping with her, he was rewarded for his diligence with jail time. Sure, he eventually became the vice regent of Egypt, but to ignore the years upon years he spent in exile and pain discounts the reality of the Joseph narrative.
In the Old Testament, pain and sorrow were part of the package when it came to serving God. And this pattern remained unchanged in the New Testament.
Peter left his family to follow Jesus when he was called away from his profession as a fisherman. We know for sure he was married, as Jesus stayed at the home of Peter’s mother-in-law in the gospel of Matthew. It is very difficult to have a mother-in-law without a wife, so he at the very least left his wife at home with no viable income to support herself. If he had kids, it gets even more interesting.
After the Day of Pentecost, Peter is thrown in jail for preaching the good news of Jesus Christ. He and John were beaten and released to return to their fledgling church. We are too quick to read of God’s redemption by focusing on the release from prison, but we miss the middle of the story. Peter was imprisoned. Peter was beaten. Because he loved Jesus.
It was no better for Paul — indeed, it may have been worse. Paul was beaten, imprisoned, shipwrecked, stoned and left for dead, and then imprisoned again. He had to run from mobs, who first proclaimed him a god and then wanted to kill him. He had something so painful in his life that he asked God to remove it from him multiple times, but God said no every time. Further, God insisted Paul needed to stay week to reflect the strength of God in his life.
A life of obedience to God does not produce only blessing. We are promised pain and sorrow, trials and tribulations — by Jesus and his brother James. That we are continually surprised at the challenges in our life reflects how poorly we have been trained in our faith.
We will have mountains in our lives. It is time we learned how to navigate them.
What wisdom to you have to share for us as we climb the mountains of life?
Chris, perhaps someone needs to remind some of the prosperity gospel preachers of this! 🙂
Sadly, so many people have been hurt and swindled by that theology, including some of my close friends
Good reminder, Chris.
I just heard a sermon this past Sunday. The main thrust was that God is an ever present help IN trouble–not that he will keep us from trouble–but that he would bring us through it.
So true. And yet it is so easy to forget, isn’t it?
Great post, Chris! A topic that I touched in my post today, and extensively in my book.
I love and identify with mountains, as I grew up in one of the most mountainous areas in Greece, Arcadia.
You are right that we think if we are good people, God’s blessings (what we perceive as) are a sure thing. Even though I know better, trying to give hope and make my husband feel better in all this turmoil we live in, I do tell him the same thing. Deep down however, I remember Job and know that the same thing could very well happen to me.
I am afraid our challenges could get more and more difficult. I don’t care about myself, but I don’t want to see my children suffer.
Bless you, you pick some good topics!
Job is a tough narrative to align with a great, powerful, generous God, in my opinion.
Tell me more about your book. Where can I find it? What is it called? What’s your favorite part about it?
Good words, Chris! Not because they’re easy, but because they’re true. Keep telling the truth, my friend.
really in your element with this post, chris. anyone ever tell you you should’ve been a preacher? 😉
Well a long time ago I even got a degree to do that. Sadly, no church would hire a 20-year-old boy full and passion and arrogance, lacking wisdom.
Chad, you are such an encouragement to me. Thanks!
decade and a half later, you gain any wisdom?
The jury is still out on that one, but I believe so. that being said, my path looks a lot different now than it did then. I may yet end up speaking to large groups in churches, but it may or may not be as a pastor
just not the kind of pastor you originally thought.
sent from tim’s iPhone
This is great Chris! Good words. All of them! You are right, preachers, songs… so many ways this false truth is taught and believed in our world today. One of the biggest lessons I learned was that you can’t compare your mountain to anyone else’s. We all have our mountains to climb and it doesn’t matter how steep or treacherous someone else’s mountain is – we have OUR mountain to climb. Comparing doesn’t do anyone any good. There’s no “Your mountain isn’t as hard as my mountain to climb.” or “Your mountain looks a lot tougher than my mountain.” We each have OUR mountain and we have to navigate our path with God and His grace guiding us. Thank you for this post!
My buddy Tim talks about obsessive comparison disorder. It’s always unhealthy, and never produces ANYTHING positive, whether we are comparing victories or mountains. So very true, but so very hard
While I didn’t grow up (Baptist) believing that a trouble-free life was possible or that problems equaled sin specifically, I did carry with me a subtle belief that if I “kept to the path,” somehow I would be exempt from certain calamaties. Thus, when I suffered a miscarriage in 2008, it gave me a wake up call and a beautiful opportunity to explore the Big Questions, like whether God’s love for me was dependent upon my behavior.
One of the biggest lessons I learned was that miscarriage is very common and God wasn’t “out to get me” but rather was ready to use a very common occurance to teach me more about His unconditional grace and love. I preach that message often, in the hopes of combatting the very mentality you are addressing here.
Thanks for adding another layer to the conversation!
Tabitha,
Thanks for stopping by — I don’t think I have seen you comment here before.
I still remember a sermon one of my pastors preached years ago where he said our God is not a Getcha God. It has always stuck with me, and guided me when difficult seasons come.
I also recall the pain and frustration my wife and I went through when she married in the late 90’s. I would never wish that on anyone
Great post, Chris. Hit the nail on the head.
Thanks Pilar! Sometimes, stuff burns in my soul and I have to get it out. This was one of those times…
” Further, God insisted Paul needed to stay week to reflect the strength of God in his life. -”
similarly in our brokenness we often are called to better reflect the glory of God. … we don’t like it we don’t want it… but the truth is it doesn’t matter. We must be weak …so his strength shines in us.
Great reminder Chris…
Blessings
Nancy