Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I've Loved

by Kate Bowler

To believers in the prosperity gospel, surrender sounds like defeat. They write books with titles like Deal with It! to remind readers that there is nothing so difficult that God cannot accomplish it, and that you, sir or ma’am, had better get cracking. There are no setbacks, just setups. There are no trials, just tests of character. Tragedies are simply opportunities to claim a bigger, better miracle. I often wonder if the prosperity gospel’s never-give-up spirit produces resilient believers. Does it make happier people? Do people find themselves emboldened, shielded from the trials of daily life by the promise that they are more than conquerors? I can’t tell. All I know is that a cheerful person can look a lot like someone with total mastery over everything that would weigh a lesser person down.

Or a cheerful person is someone putting on cheerful mask. If showing how miserable and overwhelmed they are is admitting failure, they've no reason to do so normally.