Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. - Lamentations 3:22-23
Far and away the most inconceivable idea ever proposed by the pathologically limited mind of man is the notion that God could ever fail to achieve His own divine will. In other words, God isn't God! And this is quite possibly the most dangerous characteristic of the “prosperity gospel;” the gospel that puts man at the center of the universe and God at his beckon call. “For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.” - Romans 16:18.
There are churches where the preacher/pastor/minister declares, without caveat, that if “you will just (fill in the blank), God will shower you with His unlimited blessings (i.e. financial, health, marital, etc).” And in these theologically toxic environments, there are literally millions of dissatisfied and disappointed congregants. They become bitter in the face of the blessings God has already bestowed upon them. Despite the facts that they currently enjoy life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, they grouse about something or things that they feel God failed to deliver on. “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.” - 1 Timothy 6:9.
“But Reverend Al said . . .,” is often heard as they voice their discontent about their circumstance. They should not feel short-changed or disappointed and the reason should be obvious: God is not a genii or a magician who grants our every wish or magically makes our problems disappear. So whenever I hear an apostate say that he or she no longer believes in God because He failed to deliver, I must ask, “deliver what?” “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” - 2 Timothy 4:3-4.
The problem in these situations always comes down to three basic theological errors :
1) the notion of “an arraignment” between man and God; some quid pro quo of sorts;
2) the notion that God is duty bound to perform as per contract; and
3) the notion that we can bargain with God.
Much to the disappointment of these callously misled souls, three cold hard facts quickly emerge from a basic textbook on systematic theology:
1) God’s grace is a gift to us, not a present awarded to us for our spiritual valor;
2) God owes us nothing; that’s why we call His gracious providence a “blessing,” and
3) God is sovereign; there is no bargaining or haggling; it will be His way . . . period! “Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure . . .” - Isaiah 46:9-10.
Yes, we are commanded to pray but pray according to His will, and often times God’s will does not match our own. We must never make the mistake of thinking that God did not deliver. He always delivers, perhaps not to our address or in our time frame, but He always delivers. We may not be particularly thrilled with the contents of the package but it is what God has willed for us. God is not compelled to fill our order; He fills His own order for us, and it is the right item in the right place at the right time, every time! “And He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.’” - Acts 1:7.
So if in our finite minds God has failed to deliver according to our vain imaginings, one should ask, “who put those irrational concepts into our heads?” Perhaps Rev. Al has fed us a poisoned gospel. And therein lies the problem with the prosperity gospel - it’s an outright lie and the pastor who spreads it is a liar! “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” - John 8:44
Here’s the bottom line - God is sovereign and that means His divine will is what is going to take place regardless of our hopes, dreams, or desires. True, there are times when God’s will matches our own. When it does, we receive His gracious blessing - when it doesn’t, we don’t. If we’re coming at this from the premise that God should reward our good behavior then we’re coming at it from a faulty and theologically false premise. There is simply never a time when God fails to deliver.
May we always pray from the perspective that Christ Himself laid out for us in the Lord’s Prayer. “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10.
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