The Wrong Blessing

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ." Ephesians 1:3

In a post entitled "Blessed In More Ways Than One," a popular Christian pastor was discussing the peace of God. In his conclusion he writes, "Beloved, because Jesus is your peace, you are blessed in more ways than one. Your soul will prosper. Your health will prosper. Your finances will prosper. Your loved ones will be taken care of. Your relationships will flourish. You will enjoy the favor of God. All because you have the Prince of Peace!" This sounds good, but is totally against the message of the Bible. Now, I agree your soul will prosper, but it not related to those other things he lists. What does this message say to those Christians who are not experiencing these things in their lives? If you are unhealthy, struggling financially, your loved ones are not being taken care of and your relationships are not flourishing, does that mean you are not "favored by God"? This is nothing more than another example of the prosperity gospel, which is no Gospel at all.

This pastor, to support his belief about the peace of God, gives two examples. The first is of an individual who survives cancer and then is rewarded with a substantial sum of money from an insurance company. The second example is of a person who was facing a reduction in their income, but ended up receiving a "substantial five-figure sum" and unexpected job offers. This is great, but this is not something to be expected in the life of every Christian. Miraculous healing and financial windfalls are something to be thankful for, but can serve to strengthen a false belief about our God. Jesus said, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world (John 16:33)." Health and financial problems qualify as trouble. They only serve to confirm the truth of God's word. The peace we experience is that in Christ we have overcome. "Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God (1 John 5:5)." We are not promised miracles in our lives. And what do we say to those who are still struggling? Are they to believe that they do not have the "favor of God" on their lives? If being healed and receiving large amounts of money are some of the clues to determining if we have God's favor on us, then we would have to conclude they are not favored. Pity the thought.

The deepest needs of the human heart are for unconditional love, total acceptance and meaning and purpose to our lives. These desires are fully met in Christ. God created mankind to indwell us. And it is in His indwelling life that we have "everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3)." It is through the discovery of what we have in Christ that enables us to withstand the problems in our lives. Therefore, when we face trouble in our lives, that Jesus promised we would experience, we can ask God, "What is it that I can learn about you in the midst of my struggles?" When we are unhealthy and facing financial difficulty, we can recall the words of the Lord when He said, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9)." Blessings of the flesh are not promised to us. However, the promises that have been fulfilled in us are the spiritual blessings we have in Christ that we falsely believe blessings of the flesh will provide. Furthermore, how is one to determine what exactly is the "favor of God"? Is there a list somewhere to check? This is the one problem that is never revealed by these teachers.

When you are experiencing trouble in this world do not focus on a false promise that your troubles will be miraculously taken away. "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal (2 Corinthians 4:17-18)." If God has given us himself, in the Person of the indwelling Holy Spirit, then we already have the means by which to live above our circumstances. If our focus is on our flesh, and what we believe God will bless it with, then it is not on Him and the eternal blessings of the Spirit we already possess. My prayer is that people under this pastor's teaching will get their focus off of their flesh and onto the Spirit of God that indwells them. It is then they will realize that what they thought He would provide does not compare to what He has provided for them in His Son.