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Exercising Faith or Forcing Our Own Way?

One of my biggest misgivings about Word of Faith teaching is that it seems to give the impression that God will endorse any sensible, Biblical plan, which seems to benefit both the prayer warrior and those around him. We apply our logical reasoning to a situation and come-up with a plan that will bring about what we see as being the best result.

Oftentimes, we are looking to something that will make us look good in the natural realm, whilst somehow forgetting the fact that favour is a supernatural thing that transcends the physical, according to what we do or what we have. Many of these ideas that we have, do not come from God, and therefore, are born out of selfish ambition rather than love.

The “Divine Lottery Ticket” and Insecurity

I believe that many insecure Christians want to “believe God” for a large, lump sum of money, perhaps a lottery win or something similar. Despite being a great exercise in faith, this often betrays a sense of distrusting God for day-to-day provision. Jesus said in Matthew 6:26, “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”

The Parable of the Rich Fool

We are often like the man in the Parable of the Rich Fool which Jesus told in Luke 12:13-21. We want to break down our barns so that we can build bigger ones. Then, we will put our feet up and enjoy life: the man in this parable wanted an easy life – and so do we, a lot of the time. But this was the same man to whom God said, “Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’” (Luke 12:20). This does not mean that we cannot, as Christians, enjoy abundant provision, even wealth, what is important is our beliefs, attitudes and motives.

“His Yoke is Easy” in Relation to Paul

Jesus said that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. But I believe that Jesus was speaking about a spiritual lightness, rather than a physical lightness. The Apostle Paul was beaten, shipwrecked and thrown into prison. Yet he did not doubt his salvation, examine himself for hidden sin, or read the latest Christian books to give him the right faith formulas and prayer advice to overcome the situation by making circumstances easier for him.

Paul experienced such a sense of God’s peace, lightness in the spirit, that he was able to fulfil God’s plan for his life without doubting himself and without feeling condemned by God. I would much rather walk in spiritual lightness than physical lightness. Without love, peace, joy and faith - even the simplest of tasks can become frustrating, difficult, burdensome, confusing and tedious.

Our Plans and Conformity with the World

The plans we formulate, which are not of God, are often impressed upon us by other people: family, friends, work-colleagues and well-meaning church people. In our efforts to conform to the world around us in which we are brought-up and to ensure that we don’t “rock the boat”, we come to God expecting Him to have the same ideas that we have.

We assume that because God is love, His plans for us will be in perfect harmony with those around us. This is the same Lord that said that He came to bring a sword, rather than to bring peace (Matthew 10:34). This is the same Lord that told a man to drop everything and follow Him – even though it meant leaving his family without saying goodbye (Luke 9:61-62). The compulsions that we have about such plans, are not love, but are nothing more than the instinct to belong and conform, which is so natural to us all.

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