Beyond Prosperity Gospel: The Real Blessings of Obedience and Trials
Job 36:11-12
If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures. But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge.
Here, Job’s friend Elihu speaks truth out of balance. Let me explain. Though it is true that blessings come on those who obey and serve God, and peril comes on those who do not, this does not mean that the obedient will never be subject to testing or trials, nor that the disobedient will never experience prosperity in this life. You see, Elihu and his friends are still under the assumption that Job’s trial is a result of hidden sin and disobedience to The Lord. In essence, you might say that they were preaching the first “prosperity gospel” message in human history, in terms of being out of balance on their teaching and understanding. They have yet to learn that God’s way of blessing His people often comes in different ways and in different seasons than one might expect or understand.
In Job’s case, it was the burden that birthed the double-portion blessing in the long run. God tested him, purified him, then gave him twice as much as he had before. While in the midst of his trial, it neither felt nor looked like God was positioning him for a double portion, but that is exactly what was happening. But let’s not stop by only looking at Job’s experience. There are others in the Bible that God blessed in different ways, such as the Apostle Peter, for example. Peter wasn’t blessed (as far as we know) with great wealth and pleasure during his ministry, but with the power of God to preach the Gospel to the nations of the earth and to be instrumental in the building of the church. His blessings were blessings of influence and being used of God in a mighty way. Oh sure, there were earthly provisions to sustain him when he needed sustaining, but that was not his focus or primary concern. Later, he was blessed to go down in history as one of the greatest martyrs of all times, when he requested to be hung upside down because he thought himself unworthy to be crucified in the same fashion as his Lord. But was he blessed? Indeed, he was!
Here’s the thing; whether we live and experience a luxurious life, or a life of pain while serving Christ, or both, regardless, we need to thank God for His blessings, no matter what! The richness of our spiritual lives and the eternal rewards far outweigh the temporary comforts or discomforts we endure here on earth.
~ Pastor Gary Caudill
If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures. But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge.
Here, Job’s friend Elihu speaks truth out of balance. Let me explain. Though it is true that blessings come on those who obey and serve God, and peril comes on those who do not, this does not mean that the obedient will never be subject to testing or trials, nor that the disobedient will never experience prosperity in this life. You see, Elihu and his friends are still under the assumption that Job’s trial is a result of hidden sin and disobedience to The Lord. In essence, you might say that they were preaching the first “prosperity gospel” message in human history, in terms of being out of balance on their teaching and understanding. They have yet to learn that God’s way of blessing His people often comes in different ways and in different seasons than one might expect or understand.
In Job’s case, it was the burden that birthed the double-portion blessing in the long run. God tested him, purified him, then gave him twice as much as he had before. While in the midst of his trial, it neither felt nor looked like God was positioning him for a double portion, but that is exactly what was happening. But let’s not stop by only looking at Job’s experience. There are others in the Bible that God blessed in different ways, such as the Apostle Peter, for example. Peter wasn’t blessed (as far as we know) with great wealth and pleasure during his ministry, but with the power of God to preach the Gospel to the nations of the earth and to be instrumental in the building of the church. His blessings were blessings of influence and being used of God in a mighty way. Oh sure, there were earthly provisions to sustain him when he needed sustaining, but that was not his focus or primary concern. Later, he was blessed to go down in history as one of the greatest martyrs of all times, when he requested to be hung upside down because he thought himself unworthy to be crucified in the same fashion as his Lord. But was he blessed? Indeed, he was!
Here’s the thing; whether we live and experience a luxurious life, or a life of pain while serving Christ, or both, regardless, we need to thank God for His blessings, no matter what! The richness of our spiritual lives and the eternal rewards far outweigh the temporary comforts or discomforts we endure here on earth.
~ Pastor Gary Caudill