After these faithful deeds, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and entered Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities and intended to break into them. – 2 Chronicles 32:1
Hey … wait a minute … did I miss something here? Does the biblical record really state that Hezekiah’s Judah was attacked AFTER he showed his faithfulness to the Lord? Isn’t the Lord supposed to bless faithfulness with peace and prosperity? I thought that my faithfulness and obedience guaranteed God’s blessing!
While the message may be popular (that God follows up faithfulness and obedience with external security and blessing), it lacks biblical support. God exists for His glory. His goal is to make us holy, not happy. Our faithfulness simply indicates His manifest strength in us and often it is evidence of our preparedness for a great test that is soon to follow.
Our greatest blessing is often achieved in our greatest shining that occurs out of our greatest testing for His greatest glory. While that may not feel “right” in the moment, the truly faithful soon get over it and get on with the mission.
Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point. – C. S. Lewis
