Why Does God Allow Financial Difficulties in Christians (Watchman Nee)

God promises to take care of our needs, yet why does He allow believers to experience financial loss or difficulties? Watchman Nee, the late Chinese church leader and Christian leader, addressed this question in his book, “God’s Plan and the Overcomers”.

This is due either to their inability to continue on with whatever improper occupations they had engaged in before or to some spiritual reasons for which God is dealing with them specifically. God sometimes takes our wealth away so as to induce us to seek after Christ that He might have the pre-eminence in all things. It is not impossible for the rich to enter the kingdom of God, it is just difficult for them to do so. Not that they cannot serve the Lord, only that they find it difficult to serve the Lord. “Lay though thy treasure in the dust… and the Almighty will be thy treasure” (Job 22:24,25). God dealt with the children of Israel in the wilderness by depriving them of earthly supplies of food and clothing so that they might recognise the abundance of God. As the supplies on earth ceased, the supplies from heave came. Material difficulties drive us to seek after the Lord, to learn the lesson of faith, and to know Christ as the first in all things. Whenever difficulty arrives let us believe that it comes from God, and rejoice. Yet never expect difficulty, because Satan is well able to add such to us.