Some people mistakenly believe that following God is all about the rewards we can amass in this world and in the one to come. Such greedy, short-sighted thinking misses the point entirely! There is much more to a life of faith than mercenary means.
The Christian realizes that God is still God and deserving of glory even when our ship does not come in. God is still God and worthy to be praised even when we are bankrupt. God is still God and awesome in power even when we have no financial or material blessings.
Consider how Habakkuk concluded his book by rhapsodizing about the irrelevance of our condition to God's greatness. It is an objective fact, and has nothing to do with our subjective experience.
"Though the fig tree does not blossom, and no fruit is on the vines; though the produce of the olives fails and the fields yield no food; though the flock is cut off from the fold and there is no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, and makes me tread upon the heights" (vs. 17-19).
Can you say, along with Habakkuk, that God will be your God no matter what? That whether your cupboards are full or empty, whether your bank account is blessed or not, whether your consequences are positive or negative, you will rejoice in the Lord your God and exult in His salvation? For that love and adoration of God is what is most important about the spiritual life - not the material wealth that it may or may not produce.
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