Often times, I've heard a lot of believers who think that serving God means having a fun free life. A life where there are no troubles, trials, storms, and temptation. They think because they have given their lives to Christ, the world should be a bed of roses where God will literally put food on the table and probably be the one to bath them every morning, and of course, do their jobs for them while they sit down at home and playing chess or watching the current episode of Game of Thrones. Sometimes, I feel disturbed whenever I hear preachers who make it sound as if serving God entails having all the material/worldly possession at your beck and call. It breaks my heart whenever I hear preachers trying to lure unbelievers to Christ with such things. To them, having worldly possessions should be the primary aim of serving God. This has made a lot of Christians become so lazy while some might feel disappointed especially when they aren't getting those worldly possessions as they were told it would be.
Now, let me break this down, serving God is not a bed of roses. God will not come down from heaven, take us to the bank and ask us to cash out any amount of our choice. We have to work hard to achieve whatever we want in life. To serve God successfully, we must be prepared to endure certain things. We must be prepared to go out of our comfort zone to achieve greatness with God helping us. There is no doubt that some things may not work out as planned or expected. Also, there may be some happenings that may bring strain on you, your family or business, which we must endure because of God's work. Sometimes, these things make us stronger in the Lord.
Let's look at the life of the early disciples of Christ. None of them had a fun free life. They were humiliated for the sake of the gospel. It wasn't an easy road for them, but in the end, they were fully rewarded and crowned for all the works they did while on earth. Christ, on the other hand, suffer for the sake of humanity. He was flogged, hang on the cross, and was labeled all manner of names, but at the end, He was given a name above every other name. The truth is, if you cannot endure, you will find very difficult to follow Christ. As a believer, there are so many challenges that you will find inevitable while you walk with God. Affliction has no respect for anyone for anyone, life afflictions have no respect for title, age or position. What you need are grace, wisdom, and strength to handle them and overcome, but one thing is certain, there is nothing we cannot overcome through Christ.
I also want to let us know that grief is something we must all go through whether as a believer or not. There's nowhere in the Bible that says believers will not pass through this. Experience has shown that everybody whether believer or unbeliever does pass through a session of grief due to some unfortunate happenings, such as loss of loved ones, disappointments, and loss of property. As such times, what makes you different is the comfort we get from God. The support and love we get from Him believing God to help us heal.
Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,[a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
Psalm 23:4 NIV
The Lord has warned us in advance about the possibility of trouble in this world. The bible in the book of Psalm 23:4 gives us a clear explanation of things to come. It says "When I walk" It didn't say "If I walk" This simply means that there are challenges that go with serving God. It means the world itself is not a bed of roses. There are so many things we must pass through to become a better person and a better Christian. Now, this doesn't mean He loves us any less. It doesn't mean He is no longer God. What matters is that He is always there for us every single day, helping us to overcome all the troubles of this world.
Beloved, endurance is a necessity in spiritual service. We must be prepared for it and trust the Lord to give us the grace. Thanks to God, it is not in vain. There are divine rewards for everyone that can endure for the sake of the gospel. The rewards are not only physical but spiritual which is the most important of them all. And as the popular saying goes "Nothing good comes easy" I pray God will give us the grace to see beyond the physical the blessings and rewards that awaits us in heaven for all our work on earth.
Thank Y'all for reading!!!
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