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Flipping through youtube channels I stopped to listen. The prosperity teaching/preaching was really getting to me. I wonder how Christians in Cambodia or Venezuela feel about it. If that was a biblical principle wouldn't it work all over the world? So I started wondering about expecting God to DO for you. Like some kind of genie in the sky. I read this quote a few years ago,
"He who serves God for money will serve the devil for better wages."
I am grateful for God's "benefit package." That He first loved me. That I can expect him to bring me peace, and that He will take me to heaven when I take my last breath. But, here's a newsflash - financial prosperity is NOT God's stamp of approval. Lots of very prosperous people are VERY EVIL. Lots of Godly people are very poor. It's not an either-or. At least that's what I believe.
It's difficult when life drops you on your head, things break and lots of what you used to believe begins to fall away. Those beliefs that were once such an integral part of who you are...become weights that hold you down. You let them fall because life has proven to you, they won't hold up under pressure.
So much of my rough exterior has been sanded away over the years. Autism is the "sandpaper" in my life. Included for my family are seizures...lots and lots of seizures. Some years have sanded to the bone, leaving my heart a raw, and bloody mess. The sanding away of things that did not serve me. The sharp edges, the rough exterior. The benefit of all that sanding can leave your heart far more sensitive to the voice of God.
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The sanding has done away with a whole lot of pretense I didn't even realize was part of me. I was always determined to display a life of excellence and perfection. It was such an enjoyable illusion...
The good news is, once it was too heavy to carry, I dropped it without a second glance. I was finally free of its bondage. I had no idea that I allowed other people's opinions of me to decide if I was worthy or not.
Maybe some of you think the same things I do. Concerned that others watch your lives (your mistakes) and come to the conclusion that serving God is a lesson in futility. That there is no "benefit package" to being one of His kids.
It's one of the reasons I wrote, The Choosing. I truly believe that some of our lives...are lessons for others. They watch us persevere through things that truly ought to kill us, and somehow we survive it. (FYI - I did not sign up for that! I bet you didn't either.) Others can clearly see that it's not human strength that gets us through. So even if they aren't positive it's God, they're pretty sure it isn't something we are capable of.
Maybe...or maybe I'm back to thinking too much and making something out of nothing?
I'll let you decide.
I confess that I don't always keep up my end of the bargain when it comes to being all that I'd like to be. But, one of the biggest benefits to knowing God, is that He hears me when I whisper His name. He forgives me the second I ask him to. I trust Him to bring justice into the world...in the way He sees fit. Mostly I know that He will take the difficulties of this life and make good out of them. I know that because His word is full of those promises. Here are a few of my favorites.
*(2 Corinthians 1:3-5) All praises belong to God. For He is the Father of tender mercy and the God of endless comfort. He always comes alongside us to comfort us in every suffering so that we can come alongside those who are suffering too. We can bring them this same comfort that God has poured out on us. TPT/The Message
(Ps 40:1,2) I waited patiently for the Lord; He inclined to me and heard my cry. He lifted me up from the pit of despair, out of the miry clay; He set my feet upon a rock and made my footsteps firm.
(Luke 18:7,8) Will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night? Will He continue to defer their help? I tell you, He will promptly carry out justice on their behalf. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth.
*PS-If you have read this all the way - I am asking for prayers!
No Choice, Book 2 in the series The Chronicles of The Shadow Lands will be launching SOON!
THE CHOOSING - Book 1 has sold more copies than I ever hoped.
I need prayers to get NO CHOICE out there at this wild and wooly moment in history.
You guys are the reason I keep writing. I can't express how much I pray to write the words you need to hear. Please, please feel free to send me how I can pray for you. Your prayers, your dreams. I would love to partner with you in prayer.
I'm excited about Book 2. It's just over 235 pages. I dreamed it...way back last summer. I tell you this because...the story is about a virus. Yep...I know, but who could've imagined that a deadly virus would show up almost a year later. I think you will love the spiritual twist on a virus invading the world. I pray it will encourage you, and hopefully draw you closer to Adonai.
PSS - I will be asking for volunteers to join my launch team in the next few weeks. I'll email out the info so you can decide if you want to be part. There is an advanced copy of Book 2 in it for you. So be thinking about it.
God bless you, and keep you!
Teresa
| Link to The Choosing |
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