Seek blessings that will bring no sorrow

It is the desire of every Christian to have an Abraham kind of faith. In Hebrew 11:6, the Bible says, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he who cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” It is faith that makes Christians develop the confidence in the ability of God to reward their diligence. What dos the Bible teach about diligence? The Bible has a record in 1 Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” God does not cheat. He rewards each and everyone according to his or her labour and faith.   

The difficulties and challenges Christians face are unique opportunities for us to exercise absolute faith in God. Faith is like iron. It cannot be tested in a refrigerator. Promotion comes only after a test. Those who expect promotion without passing the test of life can be likened to the son of a principal that did not write an exam but expects to be promoted because of the position his father holds.

It is very common to see Christians tempted to “Curse God and die” because of what they are passing through. The Kingdom of God is for Christians. If we all “Curse God and die”, who will inherit the Kingdom of God? We are reminded in Galatians 5:19-21, “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envying, murders, drunkenness, raveling, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” In Genesis 6:33, Jesus says, we must “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” What are the things that will be added unto those that seek the kingdom of God? See Genesis 6: 31-32. “Therefore take no thought, saying, what shall we eat? Or what shall we drink? Or wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek: for your heavenly Father knoweth that, ye have need of all these things. ”Most of us have been led away from the presence of God because of food, clothing, rent, children, jewelries, cars, and even wine. There is no doubt that Satan can give all of these. The truth is that, gifts from Satan come with a huge price. If Satan gives you money, he will take away the happiness that it brings. If Satan gives you a shoe, he will take away the leg to wear it. On the other hand, Proverbs 10:22 says, “The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.”  

Unlike Satan, Jesus Christ has already paid the ultimate price for our salvation and blessings. Faith is the voucher Christians use to claim whatever they want from God. Remember that we cannot please God without faith. God does not also answer the prayers of a sinner. It therefore means faith and righteousness are the secrets to God’s heart.  

How do we place the Cart and Horse?

The Bible says in Galatians 6:7 that “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” It only means that we are responsible for all the problems we face in life. In most cases, even Christians fail to realize that we are not equipped to rely on our intelligence. As sinners, our righteousness is classified as “filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” (Isaiah 64:6). Indeed, sin takes us away from the presence of God so that we are unable to move Him to listen to our prayers. This is the lamentation of Prophet Isaiah. “And there is none that calleth upon thy name that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.” (Isaiah 64:7).

In Proverbs 3:5, the Bible is very clear about our limits as humans. We should neither trust in humans nor rely on our wisdom. “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” Most times, we make the mistake of trusting in our academic knowledge, financial and material possessions. Why should man that has no control of what will happen in the next minute be arrogant before God?

Those who depend on their wisdom, strength, relations, friends, neighbors and wealth can be likened to a man that put his cart before the horse. A Cart cannot pull a Horse. It is the horse that is supposed to be in front to pull the cart. This is one reason why most of us are stagnant in our marriages, work places, businesses, and education. Jesus is the Horse. We are in the Cart. Let us allow Jesus to give us direction.

When we allow God to guide us, we would make no mistakes. For God to be our guide, we must do away with arrogance, pride, and doubt. When we come to the point of realization that it is God that gives us the power to make wealth; the spirit of arrogance and pride in us will die. This is the account of Deuteronomy 8:18, “But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.”    

Furthermore, one simple way we can kill the spirit of doubt is to count our blessings. Through the acknowledgement of God’s numerous blessings in our lives, the negative spirit that make us doubt the abilities of God to take care of our needs will die and thereby free us to benefit from His abundant grace. The Bible says, without faith we cannot please God. Doubt is the weapon Satan uses to stop our faith from growing.