Feeling jealous? Me too.

For the Christian who sees an unbeliever whose life is going…easy…consistently smooth…everything turns out great for them all the time…they never seem to struggle…they never seem to have anything go wrong…all their plans work out…all their dreams come true.

Hear me out.

In this scenario, I think the devil is working in two ways:

1. For someone who is not close to God, the devil is letting them live a life free of trouble so they never bother to seek God. They’ll never walk with God if they are walking so easily and happily on their own. Then, they’ll never give God the glory. The fewer people giving God the glory, the happier the devil is.

2. For someone who IS close to God, he’ll throw as many obstacles in their way as he possibly can. He wants them to stumble and fall away from God by making their life hard and feeling that God doesn’t care. That God isn’t helping them. That if their life is such a struggle anyhow, why not just be more like the unbeliever.

The truth is, God does care.  

Your life may be hard here, but your reward will be GREAT in Heaven. This earthly home, this life, is so very temporary and short. It won’t compare at all to your eternity. So stay diligent. Keep walking with God. Don’t compare yourself to your unbelieving, yet successful neighbor. Let them enjoy their success and be happy for them. Dare I say, don’t even stop there. Pray for them. Pray that they open their heart to God, so that they too can spend eternity in Heaven rather than Hell, and hold it in your heart that God may greet you just a little differently at the gates of Heaven. For He will know the path you walked, and God the Father, the king of the earth and of Heaven, the ruler over all including the devil, the creator of the whole universe- will be proud of you.

God doesn’t remove all the obstacles the devil throws at us for a reason. He is building warriors for his kingdom; People that are willing to fight for the faith; People that are willing to fight for the things that God deems sacred, and willing to obey and teach his commands; People that have the depth and ability to make sacrifices, to prioritize others’ needs, to raise their children to know God deeply, and to even show love to their enemies; People that will give God the glory.

The devil will not win.

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”

-Romans 12:12

-A Grownup Named Meg