Rom 14:17 NIV
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit
How do we know that God is reigning in our affairs? What are the evidences that God is in control of our lives? What are the indicators and pointers to the rule of God in our circumstances? Some people will be quick to say that it is when everything is going smoothly and nothing worries you. Today, we measure the Kingdom by how much pleasure and comfort we have; we look to our circumstances to see whether we are in merriment or not and we draw our conclusions.
When a brother is in lack, if he has not understood what the kingdom of God is about, his countenance will be so disfigured that he will appear to the brethren as one who is mourning. It will seem as if God is no longer working in his life. If that situation is prolonged for a while and things get very difficult, he may begin to scheme and look for alternatives because he thinks the Lord has abandoned him to himself. Some people have backslidden because of unpleasant situations that came into their lives. They were ‘compelled’ to do wrong things because of that situation. Some sisters have gone into prostitution because of hardship and the pressures to keep up with the demands of life. Such people do not know what the Kingdom of God is about.
The Kingdom is not measured by pleasurable circumstances alone. If you are at peace and in joy and do right because things are well with you, but when things go awry you become unrighteous then you do not know the Kingdom of God. The rule of God is not to be seen only when our circumstances are pleasant. When we have all the comfortable things of life, we serve well, but what happens when the case is reversed? Will you remain righteous when you are in lack and things are not pleasurable? Will you still rejoice though there is no food in the barn? Will your peace be like a river even though you are in a storm?
No one prays for challenging times to come, but with this scripture, check your hearts. Those who are quick to ‘reject unpleasant situations’ and would not hear anything about suffering and hardship are only revealing the state of their own hearts toward God. Those who will not address this matter to their hearts now are perhaps people who will not stand the test of the Kingdom.
Don’t be misled by the errors coming from some quarters who present one side of the gospel and not the whole counsel of God. The Bible declares very plainly that we must not measure the rule of God in our lives by the pleasurable, comfortable, conveniences of life that we possess. The same way it was disputed about Job that he served faithfully because of the blessings of God, your righteousness, peace and joy may be disputed as being as a result of God’s blessings. But Job passed the test; when he was tested, even though he had lost everything, his body was also in pain, he said, “As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment; and the Almighty, who hath vexed my soul; All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils; My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit. God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me. My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.” Job
27:2-6.
The man who stands for what he believes in the face of adversity is the man who is truly convinced. The man who keeps his righteousness and peace and joy in the midst of adversity, hardship and unpleasantness is the man who is under the rule of God. This is how we measure the kingdom of God. Are you willing to address this matter to your heart very sincerely now even though your circumstance is pleasant? If God should change the tide of things, will you hold steadfastly to righteousness, peace and joy or your testimony about God will be altered? Will you address this to your heart?