Many times people think that when they begin a relationship with Christ that everything will be great in life. There are preachers who even teach this mentality when it is not correct according to the Bible. This subject has really been hitting home to me lately because I see people in the church who are struggling and they think it is a bad thing or something is wrong.
Christ addressed this issue when he spoke in John 16:33 Christ says I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” Christ did not say that you will have peace with Him and the world he said you will have peace with Him but in the world you will have tribulation. Christ was preparing the disciples here for a time that was coming up shortly where he would no longer be in there presence. While the disciples were in the presence of Christ on earth we seen them witness miracles from water turning into wine,the feeding of the 5,000,demons cast out,people healed and even being raised from the dead. While all this was happening Christ along with the disciples were having to deal with the struggles of this world. In Matthew 17:24-27 we see that Christ had to order Peter to get a mite out of a fishes mouth in order to pay a tax. If Christ and the disciples were doing so great financially do you think they would have had to get the tax out of a fishes mouth and not out of there pockets? We see later on that what Christ tells a man the cost of following Him will look like “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Luke 9:58 If Christ who is the Son of God had no where to sleep what would that tell you and I about life here on earth would be for us if we are to follow in His footsteps. We are not promised on this earth a life of plenty or great things. We see through out the old testament and the new testament God gives His people what they need and not necessarily there wants. Sure there are times God blesses us with what we want and beyond what we could imagine but the thing I can say from personal experience is often the things we want are not what is best for us. If life was great and I had everything I ever wanted beyond what I needed I would have no need to rely on Christ. It is during the times of struggles and heartaches that I find myself drawing closer to God relying on Him for strength and comfort. There is coming a day very soon when all the struggles we are going through on earth whether it be poverty,health,loneliness, and even persecution we will be rewarded beyond our wildest imaginations. We will be up in Heaven on streets of gold where there will be no more poverty,health issues,loneliness and persecution. We will be up in Heaven with the God who created the heavens and the earth and we will want nothing more than that! All those things that bring us pain in suffering here will be bound up and in the pit of hell far away from where we will be. Revelations 21:4 "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” |