I’ve recently said “yes” to On This Day reminders from Facebook. It’s kind of cool. There’s a sweet nostalgia to knowing about what I’ve posted or the conversations (albeit one-sided) that I’ve had with friends who are now mostly acquaintances. Thanks for reminding me that I’m sometimes a crap friend, Facebook.

Thanks to Facebook, I now know that approximately four years ago (wow) on this exact date I posted a great quote (and link) to a blog post relating to the Prosperity Gospel. Why is this relevant? Well, it’s not, except that it reminded me about an aspect of last week’s Jeremiah reading that I wanted to tease out a bit in my sermon that was cut due to time and the fact that it really didn’t “fit” with where I was going.

But I digress.

I’ve been having some conversations with people lately about how life gets crazy busy and full and how it’s hard to find the space for God in all of that.This is a gross generalisation, but I think we can agree that a lot of prosperity teaching goes to the extreme of telling us that there should be a reward (health, wealth and success) for our faith and obedience.

Now we know from Jeremiah’s case (and the case of a lot of other Biblical heavyweights) that this is blatantly untrue. In fact, life in general seems to be at odds with this idea that being a Christian means that life should be smooth sailing. There was no earthly reward for Jeremiah’s faithfulness. Wright goes so far as to say “Jeremiah suffers in ways beyond our imagining precisely because he persisted in trusting and obeying God”.

Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?

But here’s the thing, there is beauty in the journey of getting to where it is God is calling you to be. Sometimes it’s tough going to get to the top, but it’s only when you get there that you realise how worthwhile the journey has been.

Perseverance comes with the added bonus of being character building. But that’s only if we’re willing to learn what God is trying to teach us in the journey of getting to where it is he’s wanting us to go.

I’m not saying that we shouldn’t take joy in the fact that things are good. God IS good. There’s no denying that, just like there’s no denying the fact that sometimes bad things happen to good people. The whole point about worship building faith is that in that moment we are reminded of the good times and how God has come through in the past.

It’s easy to go to the other extreme of not being thankful when things are good. I’ve been guilty of cruising along and subscribing to the idea that I don’t need God when life is good. (You know, because I’ve got it all under control…)

So, I guess my point is this: remember the good times because they are what will sustain you through the tough times.

And while you’re at it, share them with other people! After all, we’re there to encourage each other. It’s a community of faith.

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11

So, what’s God been doing in your life lately?