How Peace and Prosperity in the World are Different in God

Many people who reject the notion of God and religion believe that only people who cannot handle the challenges of life need God. They say some people see God as a crutch and use Him to lean on when things get tough in life; and the words of comfort, the promises and assurances that are in the Bible are merely empty words.

Unbelievers swear that they can find happiness, peace and prosperity without God by simply using confidence, self-reflection, five-year-plans, and logic to overcome any of life’s struggles. In a sense this is true, except there is a difference between what the world offers and what God offers that they do not understand and cannot truly distinguish unless they experience God.

As a matter of scientific fact, and pointed out by a Bible verse, “for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” Matthew 5:45. Meaning, we are all basically in the same boat in this world and circumstances of life happen to us all at one time or another.

The difference is something unbelievers cannot see because they have only one side of the equation. Many unbelievers say they have peace, happiness, and prosperity without God. And they say many who believe in God and practice Christianity are bitter, hateful and angry and also experience sickness, depression and the typical trials of life just like unbelievers do. So, who needs God and what is He doing for believers that is more special than the lives of unbelievers?

The problem with this logic is unbelievers cannot discount the experiences of God if they have never had any. Believers know both sides of the story but unbelievers only know one side, the side of life without God. If they say they have tried God but see no difference, this cannot be true because those who actually know God can clearly see the difference.

The difference is the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, God’s Spirit. People who have the Spirit can see how God has delivered them from the evils of the world, even though it rains on them also. They get sick, depressed, have bad days, get angry, and succumb to the lust of the flesh like everyone else, but when they turn to God for deliverance from these things, He answers.

Unbelievers do not turn to God for deliverance but to the science and solutions of man; such as medicine, psychologist and therapist, politicians and accountants, while believers rely on the words of the Bible and have faith in the power of the Holy Spirit, which offers preventative solutions that protect against such predicaments.

God does not make believers any richer than people in the world. This is not His purpose and preachers who teach this are liars. He never said everyday would be a happy day and that life was full of joy, but He reminds us that when things are bad believers can turn to him and He will make things better.

In times of famine believers will eat. In times of pestilence believers would be protected, and when evil knocks at the door, they can hide behind Him. In times of chaos and confusion, He gives a sense of normalcy and in times of fear, He overpowers that fear with a sound mind and confidence in His salvation.

Believers are not afraid of death while unbelievers go to extremes to avoid it. They will hoard money, corrupt governments and kill, steal and lie to avoid it, but believers have been delivered from the fear of death because it holds them in eternal bondage to the things of the world.

God never said His people would be any better than anyone else in the world, but His people are set aside from the world and are no longer in darkness. “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:” 1 Peter 2:9.