God Does Not = Success

Often I hear or read other Christians praising our great God for causing them to win prizes, protecting them from failure or catastrophe, and enabling them to conquer any struggle. My [silent] response is, "yes, but aren't you missing something?" I have heard too many a dramatic testimonies of how, "when I found God, everything went right," or what have you. This is such a false idea of what the Christian life should/does look like. Why, of course, when some people put their faith in Christ, God may heal, protect, and raise up his people. But what about those who have true faith and still suffer hardship? What do you say to them? 

I heard a fellow Christian recount the story of a tornado that was heading toward her home. She talked for some time about the greatness and faithfulness of God because when she and her family were praying hard that they would be protected, the tornado changed route and they were one of the few areas not destroyed. By all means, praise God that he kept you safe, but what about all the other people whose homes were destroyed? Was God unfaithful to them? I think so many people have allowed these ideas to distort their faith in God. If we are taught that God keeps us safe and helps us succeed, it's no wonder that so many lose their faith when bad things happen. 

Instead, we need to learn from the martyrs of the early Church who understood that our faithful, loving God does not protect us from suffering; rather, He protects us in suffering. With God in our hearts, we aren't guaranteed to be happy, but we can be content in any situation. 

In the words of Paul, "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want."

All blessings and success come from God. H o w e v e r, God is not great simply because he gives us blessings and success. A faith based on this false idea is a selfish one. We are not called to trust our Lord because we will get a good life in return. We deserve absolutely nothing. God is great because He is the Author of everything, He is goodness and right, He is all-powerful... and, on top of all that, He loves us. To me, the most incredible part of the Christian life is not when God blesses us with success–because, um, not all of us live perfect, happy, "successful" lives. It is when God enables us to rejoice in suffering and be content in hardship.