Based on 2 Kings 25:22-26 (New King James Version)
“Then he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, governor over the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left. Now when all the captains of the armies, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan the son of Careah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men. And Gedaliah took an oath before them and their men, and said to them, ‘Do not be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.’ But it happened in the seventh month that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men and struck and killed Gedaliah, the Jews, as well as the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. And all the people, small and great, and the captains of the armies, arose and went to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.”
Should things go well for us in this world if we do God's will? This question is not a bad question, because if it is answered according to the Scriptures, then we would find the answer to practically everything, especially to why we exist. For starters, it may go well for us doing God's will in this world, or it may not (humanly speaking of course). Doing the will of God does not guarantee great human successes, or earthly glories, or prosperity in the here and now. There is not always a happy ending like in fairy tales when you do what God wants here and now. We see in this same passage that it did not go well for Gedaliah when doing God's will, and especially when he tried to lead others to do God's will also (because it was God's will for Judah to submit to his servant, King Nebuchadnezzar). And I know that this is what weakens the supposed faith of many, and what makes following God unattractive or undesirable. Talking about realities simply does not sell very well. But it is necessary to delve deeper.
For the Lord, it is no great mystery or anything new that there is a certain rejection by people because things do not go as they would like. This, for example, is written on the subject: “‘Your words have been harsh against Me,’ says the Lord, ‘Yet you say, ‘What have we spoken against You?’ You have said, ‘It is useless to serve God; what profit is it that we have kept His ordinance, and that we have walked as mourners before the Lord of hosts? So now we call the proud blessed, for those who do wickedness are raised up; they even tempt God and go free.’ ’ Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who meditate on His name. ‘They shall be Mine,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘On the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.’” Malachi 3:13-17. Now, this passage does remind us of something very important, the most important thing in the universe for man, and where we should put our most excellent attention if we have any reasoning. It says: “…the Lord listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written before Him…” So, what should we understand here? That the Lord hears and knows everything, and that, somewhere, everything is being written down, even what is most intimate in our being. So, there is a pencil (sort of speak) at this very moment writing everything you are doing, even what you are thinking, in a book somewhere before the presence of Almighty God. Why? Because God does care about what we do, and He will open that book when we give account at the end, before His holy throne. The Apostle Paul wrote this same thing, inspired by the Holy Spirit, of course: “Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” 2 Corinthians 5:9-10. And this reveals the greatest mistake that many believers have, such a mistake that was produced by none other than Satan himself through the doctrines of his demons that have spread so well in many of our churches. All, without exception, even those of us who follow the Lord will give an account. What does the apostle say? “…we make it our aim…”, that is, he includes himself in the matter, and it should be clear that if Paul includes himself, possibly the person who came closest to resembling the Lord, what will be left for us? And it also says that we will receive the things done in the body, whether good or bad. From the moment he mentions good and evil, it is because God will weigh our actions, what we did with our faith.
If we continue to delve deeper, we see in the Word what the Lord said about this: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” Matthew 7:21-23. What can we understand with this? That we will only enter the kingdom of heaven if we not only do works worthy of His kingdom, but that we also do them for the right reasons, regardless of the circumstances. This is also written: “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, ‘If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.’ But He answered and said, ‘It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ’ Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ’ Jesus said to him, ‘It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ’ Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, ‘All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” Matthew 4:1-10. What is the point of all this? Simply put, the devil tried to tempt the Lord to do his will and not the Father's will. This is what absolutely everything in this life is about, whether we decide to do the will of God while we are here, despite the circumstances, or whether we obey the devil and sin. There is no excuse for not doing the will of God. Risking losing your life is not an excuse. Because as we read before, Gedaliah lost his life for doing the will of God. He paid a price. But in conjunction with the price, the reward must be weighed. And that is what God wants to lead each human being to do, to decide if He is worth more than everything else. Why? Because we have to be worthy through genuine faith in the Lord to receive such a reward that only God can give. God is not going to give anyone what He has reserved for those who truly love Him only. “But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9. So then, are you willing to pay the price now to be able to receive the reward God gives when we love and obey Him faithfully? Lord bless! John. Support Israel. Pray for Israel. God will bless those that bless Israel.