Prospering After an Ordeal

Don’t tell me that you’re not going through something…if, as a child of God, you are not in the midst of a life-trial, then you really need to check yourself. Believers are always experiencing some sort of challenge because, it is only through trials that our faith can be tested genuine, and this makes us both strong and mature spiritually. Peter and James put it this way, 

My friends, do not be surprised at the painful things you are now suffering. These things are testing your faith…be glad, even if you have a lot of trouble. You know that you learn to endure by having your faith tested. But you must learn to endure everything, so that you will be completely mature and not lacking in anything. (1 Peter 4:12 ICB & James 1:2-4 CEV)

Sigh not dear ones, instead take heart, this is a spiritual refining process, with victory just around the corner, since all God’s people succeed in the end and you will prosper after your ordeal. But you don’t have to take my word for it because the Bible, God’s Word, is jam-packed with evidence of people prospering after an ordeal.

Let’s take a brief look at just a few…

• Perhaps the most talked about is Job, a very wealthy man who lost everything including his ten children. And after a very long and arduous ordeal, God restored Job’s fortune and then doubled it. So, Job received twice as much as he had before his troubles. God gave him a double blessing of everything.

• Abram (Abraham) went through quite a bit and prospered after every one of his ordeals. After suffering failed crops and severe famine in his homeland, Abram went to Egypt where he became “very rich”. He went on to be greatly blessed by Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of God Most High, after he had fought a fierce battle (Genesis 14) to rescue his nephew Lot. After Abram’s faith was “tested sore” through the near-sacrifice of his beloved son Isaac, God confirmed His covenant with Abram, making him Abraham – God’s grace was upon him – and God blessed him again (Genesis 22).

• Jacob was blessed exponentially after his struggle (Genesis 32:24-30). He was given a new name (nature) and then received an extraordinary supernatural blessing– a revelation of the Lord – Jacob was a changed man thereafter for he had seen God “face-to-face” and survived.

• Joseph is yet another example of great suffering before prospering. He was disbelieved by his own family; thrown into a pit, sold and said to be dead by his brothers; tempted by his boss’ wife, falsely accused, arrested and put in jail, before he was incredibly blessed. After years of ordeal after ordeal, Joseph was elevated to a position of honour – he was second only to Pharaoh.

• Someone we hardly think about in this regard but who I figure ought to be included here is king Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4). A great king with a flourishing kingdom, Nebuchadnezzar let pride get the better of him and that was the beginning of his seven year ordeal – he lost it all, God brought him to the lowest point. Losing his sanity, he became like a beast in every respect. In the midst of his humiliation, Nebuchadnezzar came to himself, and recognized, blessed, praised, honoured, and acknowledged the One from whom all blessings flow and God restored him completely. His sanity, his glory, his honour, and his splendor were all returned, and “excellent majesty was added” to him.

Every one of these men who experienced great ordeals before prospering are not unique in this regard. Like them, God has not chosen you for failure but to prosper, so that, in the same way that God’s hand was upon them for good, His hand is upon you for good. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. (1 Peter 5:10 ESV) 

Amen†

Prospering After an Ordeal    Shelley Johnson 15-Aug-2016