Struggle is not required of us to fullfill our Spiritual walk
I don't believe that a struggle is required of us to fullfill our Spiritual walk. I believe that God can work His full plan and purpose in us without us having to struggle through circumstances. (Note: I did NOT say that if we are walking a certain way that we will somehow avoid struggle. Only that struggle is not a prerequisite for us to grow. Read on.)
I believe that crap happens because we are in a fallen world. Adam and Eve sinned, sin entered our lives, and people do crappy things. As a result, we have struggles, life can be hard, people get sick, maimed, paralyzed, die, they lose loved ones, get poor, go hungry, etc. None of this is within the will of God. God does not ordain that crap happens.
If someone says "I was paralyzed so that God could work through me", or "My loved one died so that God's greater purpose could be accomplished", or "God allows me to struggle so that my destiny can be fullfilled"... that's BS, and worse yet, it does not reflect the true nature and will of God. All of this implies that God's will is for us to struggle, and that is a deception. God will is for us to prosper, and be well, and be at peace, and love Him with all our heart, and love our neighbor as ourself. One thing that God is AMAZINGLY good at, is working things out for our good which our enemy meant for evil. I think that because of that, people mistakenly believe that the bad thing HAD to happen so that the good thing could.
If some struggle comes your way, and you fall, and get all dirty, and scape your knee, and cry a bunch, and throw a temper tantrum... then God will pick you up, dust you off, dry your tears, and help you to learn how not to stumble on that again. But people take those circumstances, and they say things like "If I hadn't fallen on that, God would've never been able to show me how not to fall on it again." That is not true. And It implies that someone can't have enough faith to ask God BEFORE they do something how to do it right, and how NOT to fall. It's like they think that if they had stopped beforehand, and asked God what they needed to watch out for, that God would have purposefully NOT told them just because He wanted it to happen. Again... that is not the nature of God.
The Bible says offenses will come, and trials will come. It does NOT say God will create circumstances for us to overcome. God is not cruel and spiteful. He does not wish us harm. He does not throw stumbling blocks in our way just to watch us fall. He does not kill people for some higher purpose. He does not like watching us suffer. He does not create stressful circumstances into our life to see how we fair. That is how our enemy operates. That is not how our God operates.
I've heard these simple, offhand comments all my life: "It was God's will." Really? Did you ask God about that before you opened your mouth? Nope.
I believe that crap happens because we are in a fallen world. Adam and Eve sinned, sin entered our lives, and people do crappy things. As a result, we have struggles, life can be hard, people get sick, maimed, paralyzed, die, they lose loved ones, get poor, go hungry, etc. None of this is within the will of God. God does not ordain that crap happens.
If someone says "I was paralyzed so that God could work through me", or "My loved one died so that God's greater purpose could be accomplished", or "God allows me to struggle so that my destiny can be fullfilled"... that's BS, and worse yet, it does not reflect the true nature and will of God. All of this implies that God's will is for us to struggle, and that is a deception. God will is for us to prosper, and be well, and be at peace, and love Him with all our heart, and love our neighbor as ourself. One thing that God is AMAZINGLY good at, is working things out for our good which our enemy meant for evil. I think that because of that, people mistakenly believe that the bad thing HAD to happen so that the good thing could.
If some struggle comes your way, and you fall, and get all dirty, and scape your knee, and cry a bunch, and throw a temper tantrum... then God will pick you up, dust you off, dry your tears, and help you to learn how not to stumble on that again. But people take those circumstances, and they say things like "If I hadn't fallen on that, God would've never been able to show me how not to fall on it again." That is not true. And It implies that someone can't have enough faith to ask God BEFORE they do something how to do it right, and how NOT to fall. It's like they think that if they had stopped beforehand, and asked God what they needed to watch out for, that God would have purposefully NOT told them just because He wanted it to happen. Again... that is not the nature of God.
The Bible says offenses will come, and trials will come. It does NOT say God will create circumstances for us to overcome. God is not cruel and spiteful. He does not wish us harm. He does not throw stumbling blocks in our way just to watch us fall. He does not kill people for some higher purpose. He does not like watching us suffer. He does not create stressful circumstances into our life to see how we fair. That is how our enemy operates. That is not how our God operates.
I've heard these simple, offhand comments all my life: "It was God's will." Really? Did you ask God about that before you opened your mouth? Nope.
posted by Jason @ 1:08 PM
2 Comments:
At 3:46 PM ,
Jeremy Box said...
While I agree with you Jason, I do have a bit of an addendum. First let me state that so many people use the "It was God's will for me to go through this so I could grow" excuse, in my opinion, because we as feeble minded humans need a reasonable explanation as to why something bad happens to us. Sometimes it happens merely because we made a bad decision, or because someone else did, or because of our sinful nature and its natural bent towards the unrighteous. With that said, I do believe that there are circumstances and trials of testing in our lives that God USES to mature us. Rather he caused them or not is another topic. I don't believe that God causes harm to befall a person, nor is it his desire to harm us.... Jeremiah 29:11... Plans to prosper and not to harm. However, we can look at the life of Job and see that God doesn't always take crappy or even horrific circumstances, in Job's case, and turn them into good so he can prove his love, grace and mercy. No, sometimes God allows us to walk through those circumstances to mature us into the Sons he knows we're capable of being. If we need more examples of this we need look no further than Abraham being asked by God to sacrifice Isaac, or Noah being asked by God to build the ark. These were men that God was allowing to go through certain things to prove to themselves... Not to God... But to themselves that they 1) NEED GOD and 2) BELIEVE HIS WORD AND ACT IN FAITH... Their actions in those trials were a testimony to those around them that God loved them and was without a doubt real. I've never subscribed to the school of thought that God is waiting to cause bad things or crappy things in our lives just so he can rescue us and show us how much he loves us... That would be kind of weird and twisted actually. No, instead, I believe that God knows we live in a very flawed world where the hearts of men are bent towards evil... and in spite of that he "works all things together for the good of those that love him..." as the bible says in Romans 8:28. So... while I don't disagree with you at all... I just wanted to make sure that it was pointed out that God has and I believe still does see us through circumstances. There are things beyond our control, but under his that he allows to continue because he has a view much larger than ours and for us to attempt to grasp why he does what he does would be our first and largest mistake. I hope I was able to correctly convey this without sounding disagreeable to your blog because I thought it was insightful. I only meant my part as an addendum and agreement to what you said. Love you and miss you Bro!
-Jeremy Box
At 4:35 PM ,
Jason said...
That's good stuff, Jeremy. A friend of mine hit me up on private chat about my topic here. He sort of pointed out that my title and opening paragraph make it sound like I'm saying that the possibility exists for us to become mature Christians without encountering struggles. That, I agree, is not true. In fact the Bible pretty much promises that we will encounter struggles. So trying to argue that point its a nonstarter. You elaborated what I was trying to convey, that making a comment that "this good thing could only have happened because this bad thing happened" generally demonstrates lack of faith in my opinion. Could God have worked a good work in them without that bad thing happening? Of course He could have! Before making an absolute statement about what God did or did not intend or what He could or could not do in a given situation they had better have some revelation knowledge from God. Otherwise they should rely on God's promise that He only wants His best for us and that He will work it out for good for those who love him.
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