"God gave my family financial struggles to teach us lessons or build our character through hardship."
How it sounds in your head: A teacher said God uses hard times to make us stronger. So maybe our money problems are God's way of teaching us something important we needed to learn.
"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."
-- John 10:10Source: Religious theology making God the author of lack and suffering, contradicting John 10:10 that the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy.
She's heard countless sermons about 'God's lessons through trials' and testimonies where people thank God for their suffering. This makes the enemy's work seem like God's plan.
Satan took Job's wealth, health, and children—NOT GOD. God permitted testing but didn't cause it. When it ended, God restored DOUBLE everything Job lost—20,000 livestock, more children, and he died old and full of days. Restoration, not perpetual suffering, was the ending.
I REFUSE the lie that God authors my family's financial struggles to teach us lessons. IT IS WRITTEN that the THIEF comes to steal, but Jesus came to give ABUNDANT LIFE! Lack is the curse Christ redeemed us FROM, not a tool He uses. The BARAK blessing is my covenant right—blessed in the city, blessed in the field, blessed in my storehouses. IT IS WRITTEN in James 1:17 that every GOOD gift comes from my Father—lack isn't good and isn't from Him. He's the Restorer, not the Withholder. He gives DOUBLE for former trouble.
Your Father isn't behind your lack—He's the One who rebuked the storm, multiplied the bread, and turned water to wine. The enemy steals; Jesus restores. Your Father's character is GENEROUS, not stingy. He's not teaching through withholding—He's running toward you with provision.