When I Think Material Losses Become God's Great Blessings in Disguise
There's always the worldly definition of success. Yet, there's also the good success of the Bible. What success am I aiming for then? I was thinking about a few days ago - I read from the Spurgeon devotional about the losses of good king Jehoshaphat. The good king himself had allied with the wicked king Ahab. Nothing good can come from when a man of God foolishly aligns with Ahab. One can consider this to be the backsliding of godly Jehoshaphat. The marriage of his son Jehoram of Judah to Athaliah of Israel was going to prove fatal for the next two generations (Jehoram down to Ahaziah). Just think Athaliah nearly destroyed the bloodline if it wasn't for God's divine providence.
I could think of how often do I fail in the area of religious separation. I remembered times when my flesh wants to date an unbelieving lady. The intent was good but the action is bad. I don't know what came into Jehoshaphat's head when he had his son marry Ahab's and Jezebel's wicked daughter. Was he trying to convert the house of Ahab? If so, his actions were really very wrong indeed. Jehoshaphat should've known better than Ahab would bring in any remaining false prophets Elijah failed to slay. They had a good business relationship that was good for economics but bad for morality. While good economics is a desirable outcome but it will do nothing when people aren't morally upright. Some countries may be economically progressive yet crime rates are as bad as countries plagued with poverty.
Jehoshaphat certainly had to suffer material loss for a good reason. The worldly wealth generated by the unequal yoke with Ahab could've lifted the pride of Jehoshaphat. I do suspect that Jehoshaphat himself probably prayed a lot to God even in the midst of foolishness. It reminded me I went after an obviously non-Christian woman. I prayed to God every day to direct my path and to give me wisdom. The result was that God turned her heart away. She already had a red flag over her that she was obviously not a Christian so why did I go after her? 1 Kings 22:48 records that Jehoshaphat's ships sank thus canceling the deal between the House of Ahab and the House of David.
I was thinking that perhaps some great losses I've had in life was to humble me. Losses can sometimes be the best part of the Christian life. Many times, I do feel at home in the world until I remember I'm no friend of it. I think about how some financial losses helped me not only to budget wiser but to be more careful. Jehoshaphat's losses were probably sent because he raised his heart high. The Bible doesn't directly say that but I think Jehoshaphat got so overconfident in himself. I would assume that Jehoshaphat's unequal yoke with Ahab was a direct result of overconfidence. Only when Jehoshaphat lost a lot was he restored unto repentance.
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