With the economy the way it is, there are many individuals and families who are struggling to make ends meet. Too much month and not enough money. Many people are losing their jobs or having to take pay cuts in order to stay employed. Many businesses are also closing their doors after years and years of being successful. On top of that, those who haven’t yet felt affected by these economic times are fearful that they may be next. A job one day and the unemployment line the day after.
The other day I heard a preacher saying that if you were one of God’s children then you would “ride above the storm” and remain unaffected by the troubles around you. While that may be true to some degree, I think that we need to look at what the Bible actually says about prosperity.
True, God wants his servants to “prosper and be in good health” (III John 1:2), there was also a wee little condition that goes along with that passage. It actually says, “…I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.
I would contend that sometimes it takes a little hardship to make us wake up and recognize who is the source of our prosperity and strength. And when we truly recognize the blessings that we have and the source of those blessings, then our soul does benefit.
Let’s see what Ecclesiastes has to say about the subject of prosperity in Chapter 7:
14 Enjoy prosperity while you can,
but when hard times strike, realize that both come from God.
Remember that nothing is certain in this life.
Oh, wow…maybe some of the “prosperity preachers” need to read a little out of Ecclesiastes every now and then. According to the Bible hard times DO come from God sometimes.
Now, the only problem with this sort of thinking is to go too far the OTHER way. It may be bad enough that “prosperity preachers” leave out lessons from Ecclesiastes, but it is just as bad to err on the wrong side. Make no mistake about it…MANY of the hardships you may be facing is simply you reaping what you have sown.
Hosea 8:7 tells us about people who “…sow the wind, And reap the whirlwind. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but in the game of sowing and reaping, the harvest is always greater than the seed planted. Have you ever planted a row in a garden with a few handfuls of tiny seeds, only to reap buckets and buckets of vegetables in return. Many of us like to blame God for our troubles when we are actually reaping the whirlwind for that little bit of wind we have sown.
BUT EVEN IF YOU ARE DOING EVERYTHING RIGHT, there WILL come times of testing and hardships as we see not only in Ecclesiastes 7, but other passages throughout the Bible. God is doing this to test us, to see if we will still follow him when things aren’t going so well.
Here is the key to navigating through the difficult time: Our RESPONSE. Are we going to be whiners and complainers or are we going to be thankful for what we still do have, no matter how bleak the situation may appear? I pray that all of our responses to these economic times may be like that of the prophet in the Old Testament book of Habakkuk:
17 Even though the fig trees have no blossoms,
and there are no grapes on the vines;
even though the olive crop fails,
and the fields lie empty and barren;
even though the flocks die in the fields,
and the cattle barns are empty,
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord!
I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!
