In the Bible, Jesus made several promises to us, all of which we cling to every single day. However, there are promises that Jesus never made, but people mistakenly expect. It is important for every Christian to wholeheartedly know God's promises, but it is just as important to remove any fake illusion or expectation of being a Christian. Here are the most common things people believe, but God didn't promise.
A life without grief
The Bible never spoke of life being easy and fair. In fact, the Bible details the challenges of men so that we'll know how to face and deal with them. The Bible gave us specific verses to lean on to whenever we face problems in our lives. Clearly, God didn't tell His believers that if we believe in Him, our life will be free of problems and pain. Rather, God wants us to know that when we are sad and grieving, we can find comfort and peace in Him. Through our pain, we become closer to Christ.
A healthy life
It will be easy to believe that if you accept Christ as your savior, that God will never neglect you in every part of your life. Do not forget that God gave us our physical bodies to take care of. We are not immortal, which also means that we are still vulnerable to physical pain and sickness. Even in the Bible, there are many stories of people who were sick. God healed some of them, not all of them. The point is, God never promised us a physically healthy life until we die. It is up to you how you'll care for your body. After all, Jesus looks into the healthy spirit more than a healthy body.
For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. – 1 Timothy 4:8
A prosperous life
If there's one thing we all must know is that God wasn't really opposed to money, but he didn't like the idea of people worshiping money. Matthew 6:24 says, "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."
God never promised Christians a prosperous or wealthy life. This will contrast with what He has always taught us to do – accumulate riches in heaven and not physical wealth.
A perfect church community
For some reason, admit it or not, when we join a Christian community, we have high expectations about it. We'd expect everyone to be kind, thoughtful, and welcoming. And when we see people who aren't as welcoming, we become disappointed. What you must realize is that there is no such thing as a perfect church or Christian community. God never promised us such. Every human is flawed, which is why a perfect congregation is impossible. Additionally, this is why Christians have to stick together, to uplift and encourage one another in the house of God.
Believing in the Lord doesn't mean you'll live a comfortable life. Accepting God as your savior doesn't mean you'll never experience hardships anymore. The life we live isn't about how rich we are, how healthy we are, or how luxurious our lives are. It's about how we can live this life to please and serve God. Focus on that.
