Friday Fiction, Henry's Rock

Welcome to Fiction Friday! Sharlyn Guthrie of Dancin' On Rainbows is the host for this week. If you are participating with your own story, be sure to link up with the Mclinky on her blog.

Although I have been working on my "DD series" I didn't get the next part finished, so my own contribution is a story that got published on Faith Writers Magazine way back in '05. Click to go to Henry's Rock. Hope you enjoy it and the other great fiction on Sharlyn's blog!

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God had a Plan, Finding the Balance

Recently I posted some thoughts on what we choose to believe regarding such things as suffering and poverty. I believe God has also put it on my heart to “balance the message.” Because truthfully speaking, we can get any message out of perspective, or out of balance, and a message that is out of balance is distortion, not truth.

So what is the balance? Having now understood that God does have a place for human suffering, does that mean that whenever adversity comes along, do we simply accept it without question, saying something like, “Well, I’m just suffering for Jesus.”? That is going to an unscriptural extreme, or imbalance, in the opposite direction.

When we encounter any difficulty, we should begin with prayer.

James 5:13 Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises.

Concerning his “thorn in the flesh,” Paul sought the Lord three times before the Lord gave him an answer – and no, it wasn’t the answer Paul was looking for, but it was the only answer that was the will of God for Paul in that situation at that time.

2 Corinthians 12: 7-10
Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me--to keep me from exalting myself!
Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness " Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

God wants us to learn from this event in Paul’s life, however it is not a formula to be applied dogmatically any time we encounter any trying circumstance. Isn’t that what we often try to do – rather than seeking God each and every time, don’t we often just want a formula to apply? At least in part, the reason we do that is because it’s easier, after all, than having to get answers from God, isn’t it? Not much different from other kinds of legalism, is it?

From James, chapter four, we find that often the reason we don’t have something is that we don’t ask God for it. However, if you read the entire chapter, you will find that God is far more concerned with things like our attitudes and motivations than He is with our being able to ask for and obtain things. Near the end of the chapter, you will even find that assuming something we want to be God’s will, not including the simple words in prayer, “If You are willing…” amounts to evil boasting. Evil boasting!

James 4:2-3 You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask.
You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.

James 4:13-16 Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit."
Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.
Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that."
But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.

The fourth chapter of Philippians also has a lot to say about asking God for things.

Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Philippians 4:11-13 Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.
I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.
I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

I like the word ask, because it shows humility before God, it allows God to be God, and it shows the need to wait on Him for answers. Truth faith is not afraid to do that. So, in keeping the balance of the scriptures, don’t ‘name it and claim it,’ but on the other hand, don’t forget to ask either, trusting Him to supply all your needs in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

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Job 42:1-2 Then Job answered the LORD and said, "I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.

[ALL SCRIPTURES NASB]

God had a Plan, Poverty Mentality?

Well, here’s something to think about. The apostle Paul never said, “Join with me in believing God for personal comfort, good health and the prosperity of material possessions.” He did say, “Join with me in suffering hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” What a contrast! Paul had many other things to say about materialism, teaching instead that we should learn to be content with food and covering. And if God did happen to bless us with material riches, we ought not be smug about that.

Now, I don’t know for sure who originally coined the phrase, “poverty mentality,” but it seems to me that person must have believed it to be a personal problem Paul had. But wait a minute – which is scriptural – the sayings of Paul – or the phrase, “poverty mentality?” I think you know the answer.

Apart from the apostle Paul, the bible does have a lot to say about poverty and the poor. God, in case you are wondering, does not despise poor people. If you do a keyword search on ‘poor’ you will find many scriptures which simply clearly show God’s heart – including this one:

Proverbs 14:31 He who oppresses the poor taunts his Maker,
But he who is gracious to the needy honors Him.

It’s true also that there are many verses indicating poverty to often (not always) be the direct result of poor choices. One example:

Proverbs 14:23 In all labor there is profit, But mere talk leads only to poverty.

We need to live out our lives as Christians in wisdom, not being arrogant if we happen to be rich, and not despairing if we happen to be poor. It is good not to be lazy, but to do the work God has called us to with diligence, whatever it happens to be. We should always be thankful, and if we find ourselves in any need, don’t be discouraged from praying and asking Him to meet that need. Greed, however, the bible still counsels against, and certain phrases such as “name it and claim it” are not scriptural, whereas “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God” is – along with many, many others!

Even as I write this, I recognize my own failures – I am not “gracious to the needy” nearly as much as I should be, and there are times I am lazy, or I just make the wrong choices in how I spend my time. I think we all certainly have room for improvement in many areas.

But truly, this article is not so much about caring for the poor (although that’s important) as it is about how we go about choosing what to believe. There is so much false doctrine out there, and one group teaches the next, and it becomes pervasive in our Christian society. Our thoughts are not about pleasing God, but about how we can get God to please us. We swallow the popular teachings of the day hook, line and sinker – you know, the ones designed to tickle our ears and tell us just what we want to hear.

I know most if not all of you reading this truly have a desire to please God, and not just please self. So, join with me – learning, like Paul, to be content in whatever circumstance – to not only enjoy God’s blessings because He truly does bless us with good things – but also when there are trials and need, to continue on being thankful because God is always good! He uses the bad times perhaps even more than the good to build our lives into that which pleases Him!

Job 42:1-2 Then Job answered the LORD and said, "I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.

[ALL SCRIPTURES NASB]