You\u2019ve been wrestling with serious questions \u2014 as a Christian, one who has genuinely converted and resolved to carry your cross and follow Christ, no matter the cost. Sometimes, those questions echo not just in your mind but deep in your heart. And many times, you feel like you haven\u2019t found real answers.<\/p>\n
For instance, you might think: \u201cEver since I surrendered my life to the Lord, I\u2019ve experienced profound peace within. But nothing much seems to change around me. When I tried to live a holy life, friends and relatives drifted away. When I stopped gossiping, people accused me of being proud. When I refused bribes, more problems surfaced at work and people began to resent me. When I helped others, I didn\u2019t get thanks \u2014 I got criticism. When I started fasting and praying, the problems didn\u2019t go away; in fact, they kept coming. And when I began serving God, that\u2019s when financial difficulties peaked.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n You may even reach a point where you say: \u201cIs there any real benefit in denying myself for this faith? I feel no gain. Those who don\u2019t fear God seem to be the ones thriving \u2014 rich, healthy, successful \u2014 yet they reject God. Meanwhile, despite all my sacrifice and holiness, God seems not to notice me or reward me like them. What am I missing? What curse is on me? Or do they have something extra that I don\u2019t?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n These are not shallow doubts \u2014 these are deep, honest struggles of many saints. Even King David voiced similar cries. Consider what he said:<\/p>\n Psalm\u202f69:7\u201312 (NIV):<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cFor I endure scorn for your sake, and shame covers my face. I am a foreigner to my own family, a stranger to my mother\u2019s children; for zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult you fall on me. When I weep and fast, I must endure scorn; when I put on sackcloth, people make sport of me. Those who sit at the gate mock me, and I am the song of the drunkards.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Psalm\u202f73:1\u201312 (NIV):<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cSurely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. \u2026 For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free of common human burdens; they are not plagued by human ills. \u2026 They scoff, and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression. \u2026 They say, \u2018How would God know? Does the Most High know anything?\u2019 \u2026 This is what the wicked are like \u2014 always free of care, they go on amassing wealth.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Psalm\u202f42:3 (NIV):<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cMy tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, \u2018Where is your God?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n These words come from David and Asaph, two of God\u2019s faithful servants \u2014 people who fasted, prayed, cried, and yet felt marginalized, mocked, or envied the wicked. Their struggle was not just emotional, but spiritual.<\/p>\n But here\u2019s the good news: God heard<\/em> them. He responded. In Malachi 3:13\u201318 (NIV)<\/strong>, He says:<\/p>\n \u201cYou have spoken arrogantly against me,\u201d says the LORD. Do you see? Your good deeds are not wasted or ignored.<\/strong> There is<\/em> a Book of Remembrance in heaven, and it\u2019s writing down every act of faith, every sacrifice, every moment you chose God over the world.<\/p>\n So if you are truly committed to Christ, don\u2019t fall into the trap of thinking your service has no value:<\/p>\n Your struggles, your prayers, your sacrifice \u2014 they are not for nothing<\/strong>. They\u2019re being recorded in heaven. And your reward is real.<\/p>\n Some final thoughts:<\/p>\n \u201cthough the wicked spring up like grass and all evildoers flourish, they will be destroyed forever.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n If you haven\u2019t already, surrender wholeheartedly to Christ now \u2014 before this season of grace closes. And rest in the assurance that God sees you; He knows you; and He is writing your legacy.<\/p>\n **God bless you.**<\/p>\n\n
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\u201cYet you ask, \u2018What have we said against you?\u2019
\u201cYou have said, \u2018It is futile to serve God. What do we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the\u202fLORD Almighty? But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly evildoers prosper, and even when they put God to the test, they get away with it.\u2019\u201d
Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name. \u201cOn the day when I act,\u201d says the LORD Almighty, \u201cthey will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him. And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
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