A deadly misconception woven throughout the fabric of professing Christendom is the notion that, because things are going well for the corporate church and her individual members, God must be pleased with them. Nothing could be further from the Truth. A few Scriptural references will reveal religious man’s tendency to assume that because he is not suffering physically, socially or economically he must be operating within God’s will. This heresy is not new, as this study will reveal.

In the Book of Exodus we find the story of God’s Chosen People who have been miraculously brought of of Egyptian slavery, taken across the Red Sea on dry land, covered by a cloud by day and protected from the Egyptian army by a wall of fire by night, provided water from a rock and food from the sky, taken to a place where they heard the audible voice of God, then given those Words in stone, Words which told them how to enter His Father’s kingdom. Can anyone doubt that these people were special to God? A cursory reading of these passages would lead one to believe that these people could do no wrong in His eyes.

What the masses of professing Christendom do not understand is that God’s Word is true–all of it, including the fact that He sends sunshine and rain on the good and the evil–on the just and the unjust (Mat. 5:45). Sunshine and rain are essential for life. God provides the elements necessary for life for everyone regardless of their spiritual condition. As can be seen in the world, some of the most evil among us are the most blessed in terms of the material and physical, seemingly leading charmed lives. Many of the most blessed are among the most religious, pastoring huge, world-encircling churches while being supported by and exalted by the masses. For this reason they are assumed to be at one with the God of the universe. But the following examples will reveal that in the spiritual realm things are often not as they seem.

After all that God had done to deliver the children of Israel from the ravages of Egyptian slavery, when He commanded them to go into the Promised Land and replace the Canaanites they lost their faith in Him, became afraid and refused to obey. His reaction? The Book of Exodus reveals that he greatly blessed them. The Scriptures tell us that for the next 40 years He personally led them through their desert wanderings, miraculously feeding them manna and providing them with water while protecting them from their enemies. Throughout those four decades their clothes did not wear out and they wanted for nothing in the material realm. As they went out each morning to gather the manna that had miraculously appeared overnight they had to believe that they were in good standing with the One who provided it. When the adults’ clothing did not wear out and the children’s clothing expanded to accommodate their physical growth they had to assume that God was approving of them. When they were confronted by enemy nations and came out victorious it could only be because the Lord was looking down on them with pleasure. Students of the Bible know how God punished them time and again, eventually sending them into defeat, enslavement and eventual obscurity as they became “lost” in the heathen world.

Beginning in the 22nd chapter of Numbers we read the story of Balaam, a prophet of repute who was known for his power with God. His reputation was such that the people knew that if he declared something, it happened. For this reason the son of the King of Moab called on him to curse the Children of Israel who had recently defeated the Amorites. The prophet’s reputation was such that Balak knew that if Balaam cursed a nation, that nation was cursed. In the episode we find that Balaam, having been propositioned by Balak, is trying to strike a deal with God concerning the cursing of the nation of Israel. Finally, God tells him to go to where Balak is waiting for him–a place overlooking the camp of the Israelites–where he is to speak the Words to be given to him by God. Instead of cursing them, the Lord had Balaam to bless them three times, then proclaim that out of Israel would come a Ruler Who would lead them. Following this, Balaam left Balak and went his way. Because God had used Balaam to bless His people and to prophesy the coming of Israel’s Messiah, one might suppose that the prophet had gained favor with God. Wrong. God not only had him immediately dressed down by an ass, He would later have the Israelites kill him (Num. 31:8).