Jesus said that “the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful” (Matthew 13:22).
Prosperity has extraordinary power to dissipate zeal and energy and mission focus and a willingness to risk. But its power is subtle. It doesn’t come to us with the clear, focused threat of direct opposition.
Instead it comes to us with countless options for pursuing entertainment and health preservation and career advancement and financial security and home improvements and ways to procure a promising future for our children.
Prosperity can cause faith to die a thousand deaths. On the other hand, suffering has a tendency to drive us to the Word out of desperation for God.
Prosperity has a tendency to choke the Word and numb our sense of desperation.
And it’s the lack of a sense of desperation for God that is so deadly. If we don’t feel our deep need for God, we don’t tend to cry out to Him.
Love for this present world sets in almost imperceptibly, like a spiritual leprosy, damaging spiritual nerve endings so that we don’t feel the erosion and decay happening, sometimes until it’s too late. We are no match for its choking power.
We need God desperately. Anything that drives us to dependence on God, even if it is “a messenger of Satan” (2 Corinthians 12:7), becomes a means of grace to us.
If God has allowed into your life some exquisite pain, some difficult burden, some struggle, some anguish in the secret place that drives you to Him frequently, sometimes with loud cries and tears because you feel your need for him so desperately, do not begrudge it.
It is likely a gift of greater mercy than you know.
It may be your deliverance from choking.
Amen indeed.
Becoming rich in the Word and pursuing worldly prosperity are mutually exclusive – what will you choose today?
Jon Bloom
Desiring God Ministries, Minnapolis, MN
© Jon Bloom
Excerpted, abridged and adapted from his recent blog. You can read the full article at http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/the-merciful-gift-of-desperation
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