Even when God answers our prayers, he does not always make our lives easier. God does not want to make us “happy and comfortable” (at least not all the time) but rather holy and more like Jesus all the time (the happiness and comfort come some of the time.)As a result Satan tempts us to believe in his easy, false answers to our prayers instead. Those so-called solutions (short cuts) lead us into rebellion against God. Why do we resist this truth? It is because our flesh wants to go along with Satan’s false answers. He knows we may refuse bold sins like glory for ourselves or vengeance upon our enemies, so he tempts us with convenience that doesn’t seem like sin. Satan knows our flesh wants comfort and convenience, so even when we recognize the “big” sins of seeking self glory, or unforgiving vengeance, we can fall for seemingly innocent sins of convenience when we compromise our walk with God and service for others. Please join us as I explore the ways God’s true answers to our prayers may not lead to an easier life, but to hard work yet also to holiness and peace.
When Satan gives counterfeit answers to our prayers, he disguises them from looking like the big sins we will resist. For example, Satan’s pride brought his fall, so many Christians realize God calls us to humility (Luke 18:14b “For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”) Thus many Christians will resist fake answers that flatter our pride. Furthermore, God does not want us to hold grudges or take revenge (Romans12:19, “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written, ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.”) So Satan may not tempt a seasoned Christian with fake answers to prayers that fuel our pride or our grudges.
As a result, Satan tries to send us false answers that seem to ease our pain. A Christian may pray for a romantic mate and then find someone who says, “I am spiritual and searching for God,” but this person is not a Christian. Convenience tempts this person to not wait for a genuine Christian but instead commit to a romantic relationship with a person who is clearly unequally yoked to him or her, even though 2 Cor.6:14 says, “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?” Furthermore, in Hebs.10:25 God says, “not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Yet a person praying for a better paying job or for more pay may forget this command of God. If that Christian receives a job offer or weekend over-time hours that pay much more but also keep her from going to church, she may be tempted to take the job or extended hours. Yet that work would be contrary to God’s will. These two temptations, (the unbelieving boyfriend/girlfriend and the job that steals the believer away from church) are not God’s answers to the believer’s prayers. People become fatigued and tired of waiting for a romantic partner and tired of struggling financially, and they may believe these counterfeits are God’s answer to their prayers.
Often, exhaustion and fatigue make us impatience. Look at Elijah. He overcame the vile prophets of Baal at Mt. Carmel, but after so much conflict and work, so much running and so little sleep and food, he fell exhausted and, in 1 Kings 19:4, he told the Lord, “I have had enough, Lord,’ he said. ‘Take my life; I am not better than my ancestors.” God provided Elijah food, water and rest. But Elijah did not get to retire from his hard work. After he had rested, he followed God’s advice and went on to anoint a king and do other hard things. Elijah did not get to retire or die (and go to heaven) at least not right away. God still had hard work for Elijah.
Like Elijah, we need to refresh our souls in the Lord so we don’t grow weary of the harder life Christ calls us to follow. Yes, there is hard work, because, in Matt.7:13-14, Jesus warned us, “Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. But the gate is small and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” Yet Jesus does not want us to strive all the time (Mark 6:31, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.”) We must rest, not over-schedule our lives, and even have some fun with friends so we can face hardships God calls us to face. We need to feed our bodies and souls with sleep and nourishing food, as well as time alone, and time with friends. We need a schedule that is not too full so we can have time alone with God, reading his word, sitting in silence listening to him, praying to him, and listening to Christian music. When we feed our bodies and souls, we will be stronger and better able to do the hard things God calls us to do as well as to wait until God gives us the affirmative answers to our prayers. We must let God talk to us so the Holy Spirit can guide us.
When we have rest and Christian fellowship, we can also share our hopes and prayers with our friends. They can also help us to discern if the “seeming answers” we see (fake answers) are from God or from Satan. Our friends can pray with us. There are many other ways to discern God’s will so we do not fall for Satan’s lies, but we must know that God’s answers to our prayers may not make our lives easier, but they will enable us to remain holy.
So let’s care for ourselves and then be alert to resist the fake answers Satan gives us. Let us accept the harder answers God gives us, especially when it feels like hard work to wait for answers that don’t come quickly. God’s plans for our lives are good, even when his answers mean our lives will be harder than we would prefer. God gives us peace, but often not convenience. So let’s be on guard for Satan’s fake answers of convenience.
I pray we’ve blessed you with this week’s post. Please let me know if we’ve blessed you. Thanks for joining us this week.