Christianity’s great strength, great witness on this earth, is not that believers escape life’s pain and toil but rather that through those things, we hold onto the joyful hope of a better world. A better City. A city in which our elder brother is king and wherein all will be made right.
Our witness is that God is sovereign- unconditionally- which is the qualification of sovereign and as Sovereign, He is good.
Paul said in Philippians chapter four, after being initiated into each and every condition of life- of not having enough and at other times more than enough- that he “ could do all things through Christ which strengthened him.” He didn’t mean he could conjure up capacity and do whatever he could imagine. He meant he could face his chaotic situation with equanimity of spirit and remain connected in active faith with God.
In other words, Paul wasn’t going to judge God’s performance by Paul’s own circumstances. (Earlier in the chapter he’d said “ I’ve learnt how to be independent in the circumstances IN WHICH I AM PLACED.” Presumably he was placed there by God, for the purpose of showing God’s Glory by his persistence of faith.)
If we as ministers believe our primary role is to make people’s lifestyles better through faith (I did think this early on in my career. It was the limit of my vision and understanding) then when their life is being initiated into one of the difficult portions of ‘EVERY condition’ then we will all think our faith has failed. They will think spirituality has no earthly purpose or good.
As leaders, leading by example, let’s live a transparent faith where our friends and loved ones see us facing life with strength and hope. For our own souls, let’s live a life not measuring God by our momentary circumstances and what we may feel he owes us in them.