At our Church, I always enjoy our time of fellowship & greeting before Church. It’s great to be able to briefly catch up with those we may not have seen all week. We often ask each other “How are you doing”. The common response is “Fine”, “Good”, or maybe even “Great”. Others will go into a long story of what’s wrong in their life. Despite the troubles you’re having, when asked how we are, we all should be answering that question with “I am rich”.
Now we are far from being financially rich. We live paycheck to paycheck on one income, but we are Rich. We have been blessed way more then what we deserve. When things don’t go our way and problems arise, it’s easy to get down and dwell on our own problems. But we must remember that God has plans to prosper us, not forsake us. In Paul’s letter to the Church at Corinth, he gave them a warning. Citing Israel’s past and the time they spent wandering in the desert as an example.
1 Corinthians 10:9-10 says “Let us not test Christ as some of them did and were destroyed by snakes. Nor should we complain as some of them did, and were killed by the destroyer.” Now Paul is explaining to them that the suffering Israel endured in the desert for 40 years was not God’s fault, but their own. God promised them a land flowing with milk & honey. He gave then water flowing from a rock and manna falling from the sky. Despite the amazing signs God performed for and through Moses, they still did not truly trust God. Instead they tried to test God and complained about what they had to endure.
There are many people who think that being a Christian means God will make your life just great and nothing will go wrong. Some people who face tragedy in their life think that means that God can’t possibly exist and let these things happen to them. This is not the case. We are not promised a perfect life. We are not even promised an easy life. In life there will be troubles, trials, and temptations. Often times, we are no better. We tend to spend more time dwelling on what we don’t have, then we do being thankful for what we do have.
Paul goes on to say “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity. God is faithful, and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape so that you are able to bear it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)
We are promised something so much better than an easy life. We are promised that our all knowing, all powerful Lord and savior will be with us every day. We are all sinners, we all mess up, & we all disappoint God, but He will never leave us or forsake us, no matter what.
In John 15: 19 Jesus tells us “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you.”
I will praise Him in the storm. I am grateful that I do face trials, as this means I am not of the world. I don’t need a perfect life without burdens, because I have a perfect God who loves me and will carry my burdens.
I am richly blessed