The Peril of Prosperity, the Fortune of Failure

As a junior high student I was average. Truth is, I found school boring and I placed little trust in it’s authority. I identify with Calvin in the Calvin and Hobbes comics.

For example…

In grade 9 math I was awarded a $5 gift certificate for “most improved” because my grades jumped from 60% to 90%.

Sounds good, right? But what you need to know is this: I didn’t understand why they would award me! In my mind, it was only because the type of math we were studying went from boring to interesting. I truly didn’t care about my marks, it only mattered whether or not I liked it. Statistics, boring. Geometry, fun!

When I moved into high school I found my grades jumped at least 10% (through no fault of my own) and so that was fun.

I started to enjoy getting higher marks and it became a bit of a game. Not one I tried too hard at, but one that was worth playing. Why? It was fairly easy for me to put in a little effort and then get the rewards.

Turned out, I was good at playing the education game.

If only that applied to other areas of life!

Other arenas such as marriage, or grief, or business (failure) did not seem to be as easily solved. I had to learn brand new skills that I wasn’t as naturally good at.

But hidden in those problems and failures was the true insight of my life.

I learned that failure is a certain kind of success.

There is a hidden fortune in failure, embarrassment and humiliation:

…you can draw close to God.

When times are tough, we tend to pray, ask God for help, even bargain with him “if you get me out of this mess, I’ll (fill in the blank).”

Its when things are going well that we forget that we asked for help, we forget that it wasn’t all us, and we think in our hearts “I did it.”

That’s the Peril of Prosperity.

So, if times are tough, rejoice! This is an opportunity to recognize and embrace your dependence on God. This is an opportunity to draw close and relax in your Heavenly Father’s arms.

He’s got this.

The fear, tension, and stress you feel is alleviated as you give up in his embrace.

Oddly, the more you relax into your dependence, the more you will begin to feel confident and strong. Just be aware your strength comes from your weakness. Remember the proper attitude of humanity is fear of the Lord. As you learn to be dependent you will learn to be powerful.

It’s not your power, but the power of faith in what God is doing. This is why surrender breeds strength, not weakness.

And the best kind of surrender is a daily time of doing nothing. When you turn it all over to God, give up, lay down your sword, and hand over the reins to Someone who is actually in charge.

That’s what Meditate On Christ is for. That’s what we do every day:

“God, I need you, and you’re in charge. My every breath comes from you. Thank you for this moment, this breath, this very heartbeat.”

That’s it! In 10 or 20 minutes you move on and your day is refreshed, different in a simple way. You’ve been with God.

And this changes everything.

Be still. And know. That He. Is God.