There is a struggle that many Christians go through. Doing their very best to live godly and faithful lives but always seem to come up short in tapping into the abundant blessings that God promises. At this point, many Christians begin to question their faith and often become disillusioned, and some will even choose to abandon their fellowship with God. In this age of the prosperity, gospel things can become even more complicated since everybody seems to have a word from God about the outpouring of blessings especially when you are compelled to sow seeds of faith. Persons who are on the margins of poverty fall victim to this kind of charismatic preaching and end up being bitterly disappointed when their tide of riches don’t come washing ashore.
Does God promise abundance simply because we are hardworking and dedicated? Does He give us a guarantee of wealth and prosperity on the merit that we are going to sow in faith? Or is there a greater lesson that God wants to teach Christians everywhere of how we can access abundant living by applying the truth of the Bible practically. In the parable of the talents Matthew 25: 14-30 is an indication that God expects Christians to use all their God-given gifts to improve the Kingdom of God and their own lives primarily in the area of personal wealth. Failure to do this will result in a life of underachievement and constant struggle.
Too many times Christians depend solely on the principle of faith to get by not understanding that faith also carries responsibility. James 2: 14-26 puts it in perspective, though Jesus did say that if Christians have faith as small as a mustard seed, they would be able to accomplish great things He did not say that was all that was required. James makes it clear that faith requires action; it is in acting that Christians can tap into the real promises of God. Every passage in the bible where faith is a requirement to witness the wondrous works of God there is also an action that is demanded from the one who is exercising faith. This points to the fact that if Christians expect their lives to be blessed by God, there must also be a willingness to become active participants in the process.
Feelings of guilt and resentment toward others who are doing well will take over the lives of Christians who think God has forgotten them. However, there is another principle that operates in the physical realm that must be appreciated. God has so constructed the universe that it can supply the equal opportunity to all who are willing to dedicate themselves to hard work and plan wisely. It is the selfishness of humankind that has disrupted this balance. Both the wicked and the just are given the opportunity to make something out of life without special favour from God. This means no matter how much become resentful and bitter towards those who are doing well it will do little to change their circumstances. The alternative to this is to seriously examine what the Bible has to say about God’s promises and work hard at unlocking the principles that will lead to abundant living. Several passages boldly declare the favour of God over the lives of the faithful, but they all have a principle that requires unlocking and application.
At the end of the day what we do about success and abundant living comes down to choice. We can choose to be bitter, resentful, envious or blame others, but it will do little to change our circumstances. There is no promise of prosperity from the bible without hard work and dedication, if this were true, then the God whom we claim to serve would be encouraging laziness. It is not alright for Christians to cultivate attitudes where we think that God owes us anything. Our opportunities may not all be equal, but they are opportunities nonetheless, and God expects to take full advantage of them. Don’t fall into the trap of believing that if things don’t go our way that we are born unlucky or cursed. Sometimes all we need to do is take a step back, reevaluate our lives and look at the opportunities as they are presented before us. The Bible reminds us that nothing that we ask of God that is within the boundary of His will He will withhold from us. If we believe this to be true, then we are obligated to trust God and do our part while He takes care of the rest.
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