Are We Going to Make It Through?

I had a conversation with Pastor Adam today about a song that I had previously nixed from the repertoire of our church. It’s the song called “Firm Foundation (He Won’t)” by Cody Carnes. It has a ton of really good, biblical content. Here’s the first verse:

Christ is my firm foundation
The Rock on which I stand
When everything around me is shaking
I’ve never been more glad
That I put my faith in Jesus
‘Cause He’s never let me down
He’s faithful through generations
So why would He fail now?
He won’t
He won’t

If this is so good (and it is really good!), what is my pause about the song? It comes from the bridge. Here’s what part of it says:

Rain came and wind blew
But my house was built on You
I’m safe with You
I’m gonna make it through

I have an aversion to what’s called the “prosperity gospel.” This “gospel” is taught by many pastors openly and taught by some more subtly. It’s the belief that Jesus came to make us healthy, wealthy, and happy in this life. It’s a false gospel because it offers far, far too little than what God promises us in the gospel. The real gospel is that Jesus came to give us eternal glory with Him. What happens in this life is sometimes enjoyable, but is often challenging and fraught with trials.

It is my understanding that those who wrote this song believe in a soft prosperity gospel. It seems to me that it was written intending to promote this belief. When it says, “I’m gonna make it through,” what do they mean? Do they mean that Jesus is going to keep us safe from cancer? Is Jesus going to prevent me from getting a divorce? Is Jesus going to get me into the college I want to go to?

The answer to these questions is that He can, and He might, but He might not. But even if He doesn’t (shout out to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) He’s still good because God promises to use the disappointments, trials, and pain for my good in preparing me for glory. In that way, I am going to make it through.

After talking with Pastor Adam today, I’m okay with the song being sung as long as he or someone makes it clear what the truth is. The truth is that following Jesus might lead to an early death or might even result in us losing everything we once held dear, but that our God will lead us through it to our true reward–seeing His face in glory.