The Bible's Promises

As promised in a previous post, I want to explore the theme of the Bible's promises. I had stated that not all of the Bible's promises are for everyone at any time. This is something that I learned from a book 95 Theses on Righteousness by Faith by Morris Venden. In it he states,  

"The spiritual promises - for forgiveness of sins, for the Holy Spirit, for power to do his work - are always available. But the promises for temporal blessings, even for life itself are given on occasion and withheld on occasion, as God's providence sees best." (p. 58)

I had always struggled with the fact that bad things happen to good, God-fearing people. I had always refused to believe that a good God would let bad things happen to his people. I had taken Jeremiah 29:11 to task, 'For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.' But when I read that chapter of the book, I came to realize that I was wrong. Even upon examination of the Bible, I realized that my thinking was wrong. Take a look at Job, the most obvious of God's dedicated people and what he went through. Job was rich in earthly belongings, so God had granted him prosperity in that. But Job was also rich in spiritual wealth. He had a strong relationship with God. God had seen through his providence that Job would be faithful if given earthly wealth, but He had also seen that Job would still remain faithful if it would all be taken away - which is what happened. So when his life was being ripped away before his eyes, Job stayed faithful because God was always with him, and he trusted God. I guess that's the real test of faith, whether we stay faithful through good times and through adversity.

Another example would be the Apostles and the end that some of them came to. Not all were able to escape persecution and ultimately death - some of them died for telling the good news of God. The promise of life is not for everyone, but only "as God's providence sees best." The 'expected end' in Jeremiah 29:11 to me refers to eternal life. That alone is God's aim, and he will do whatever it takes to ensure that we get there. THAT is his promise. So it may mean that on earth we may not always get what we want or think we need, but I am slowly learning to be okay with that. I have to trust God because He knows what's best for me.

'For our light affliction which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.' 2 Corinthians 4:17