"God is testing me with financial hardship to build my character."
How it sounds in your head: Adults say things like 'God is teaching you patience' or 'This struggle is building character.' Maybe God is keeping money away to make me stronger or teach me a lesson. Maybe I have to pass this test before He blesses me.
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning."
-- James 1:17Religion blaming God for the enemy's attacks and turning the Father into a cosmic life coach who withholds to teach lessons.
People quote Romans 5:3-4 about tribulation producing perseverance, so it sounds like God causes hardship on purpose. If I'm struggling, maybe it's His training program.
Joseph suffered betrayal, slavery, and prison—not because God was testing him, but because his brothers sold him. Yet Joseph said, 'You meant evil against me; but God MEANT it for good' (Genesis 50:20). God didn't cause the hardship—He REDEEMED it and made Joseph second in command instantly.
I REFUSE the lie that God tests me with poverty to build character. IT IS WRITTEN in James 1:17 that EVERY GOOD GIFT comes from the Father—He gives GOOD things, not lack. Jesus came to give me ABUNDANT life (John 10:10), not a poverty boot camp. The enemy is the one who steals, kills, and destroys. IT IS WRITTEN in Romans 8:32 that God 'did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?' My Father withholds no good thing from me. I receive His abundant provision NOW.
Your Father isn't the drill sergeant withholding to toughen you up—He's the Dad running to you with the robe, ring, and feast. He didn't test the prodigal; He RESTORED him instantly, and He's doing the same for you right now.