Pet Peeve--Are you Godly??

I've probably watched / listened to or read a hundred sermons that say, "You should always be happy, healthy and prosperous if you're a Christian."
I often wonder how those people reconcile their so-called Christianity with reality, which includes Middle Eastern Christians getting slaughtered by the hundreds, or wholesale persecutions under Communism, to name just two.
Prosperity is not a guarantee for any of us. In the sense that Christians work harder, act according to God's will, and do their best to follow what might be called the "rules of success," yes, Christians do tend to do better. But they don't always do so, and they are not always blessed commensurate with their level of faith, or their hard work--nor do they always enjoy their lives and stay free of trouble. It doesn't take much of a trip through the Psalms to know this:

Psalm 6:1-7:
1 O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger, Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure.
2 Have mercy on me, O LORD, for I am weak; O LORD, heal me, for my bones are troubled.
3 My soul also is greatly troubled; But You, O LORD --- how long?
4 Return, O LORD, deliver me! Oh, save me for Your mercies' sake!
5 For in death there is no remembrance of You; In the grave who will give You thanks?
6 I am weary with my groaning; All night I make my bed swim; I drench my couch with my tears.
7 My eye wastes away because of grief; It grows old because of all my enemies.

Christians DO walk through the "Valley of the Shadow of Death," and they have to deal with it, just like everyone else.

Billy Graham once said that temptation, persecution and trouble come to Christians, just as they do to everyone, but that Christians can rely on the God who made them to be their "ever present help in times of trouble."

Lest you think that this is only an Old Testament concept, Here's a snapshot of Paul's life (he wrote about half the New Testament by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit):

2 Corinthians 2:3-5: 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.

And 2 Corinthians 11:
2 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I.
23 Are they ministers of Christ? --- I speak as a fool --- I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often.
24 From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one.
25 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep;
26 in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;
27 in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness ---
28 besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches.
29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation?
30 If I must boast, I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity.
31 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.

Each of these passages makes it very clear that the portion of Christians is not always happy. Yes, we have the joy of everlasting life, but sometimes it's buried so deep beneath our pain that it's tough to remember it.

Now, of course, I'm going to tell you that you should always remember the fact that you will live forever with God, but it can be very tough to do that when your pain overwhelms you. Yes, it's a good testimony that the Lord always keeps you happy and healthy, but it's not true. It's "fake Christianity," just like the "fake news" that everyone's talking about right now. In fact, not only is it fake Christianity, it proclaims a fake Jesus.
What would make anyone think that Jesus liked dying for us? It was the most difficult thing anyone's ever been asked to do--shoulder the burdens of a sinful world, past present and future, and He definitely felt it. He BEGGED the Father, "Let this cup (of suffering) pass from me..." the prophet tells us that "He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;" and He says about this terrible time (I know it's Old Testament--but I believe that this is a prophecy of Jesus),

(Isaiah 50) 6 I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. 7 For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.

In other words, the "no bad days" view of Christianity is a false teaching. No, we don't want bad days, but reality is different.

Now why do I say all this? To discourage you? Not at all. I mean the opposite. If the Psalmist says, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death..." you NEED to know the valley of the shadow of death is real for some. As Peter said, "Don't look at it as a strange thing when you suffer..." 

It is wrong when people say things like, "If you just had enough faith, you could (insert whatever you want here, such as, "be healed")..." well, sometimes that's true. Other times, your "faith" runs counter to the will of God. 

Jesus said, on the one hand, "If you have faith, you can say to this mountain, 'Move,' and it will, and nothing will be impossible for you."

However, He also said, "Father, if it is possible, let this cup (of suffering the death on the Cross) pass from Me...Nevertheless, not what I will, but THY will be done."

These two realities are always in tension. On the one hand, we have tremendous promises. On the other, there is suffering.  Both are real. Both happen to Christians. On the other hand, the future is completely bright, if today is dark. THAT is what has sustained the family of God during the hardest times. The future.

I want to end this post with a story. It's from my own life, so I saw it and know it to be true.

Back when I was a pastor, our church prayed specifically for two people who were dying. One was a quadriplegic. The other had cystic fibrosis. The entire church agreed to fast and pray for three days. The boy with cystic fibrosis lived (medical assistance here as well). The quadriplegic never did get well. Had it been MY choice, both would have gotten well. But it was not. 

Jesus put it like this: "The Son can do nothing of Himself, but whatever He sees the Father doing, He also does...for whatever things He does, the Son also does..." 

I have seen God do amazing things. I have also seen Him allow terrible suffering. It is ultimately HIS choice, for reasons we cannot know--at least for now.