God Has Pleasure In Our Prosperity!

God loves us so much that it is beyond our understanding of comprehension. For God to offer His Son as a sacrifice for those who do not even want anything to do with Him is beyond Human comprehension. God created us so that He could commune with us and to share His love with us. Since the fall of man, man has struggled to please God through the keeping of the law. God knew this and had a plan all along that would gain the love of His children back. And that plan was and is through the blood of His Son Jesus.

Now it is repulsive to think that it is God's will to allow His Son to go to the cross just to watch us struggle. What I mean is it is God's will for us to increase. Everyone has a starting point and usually it is no where near the finish line. I remember when I first gave my life to Christ I was pretty rough around the edges. Now I look at where I am now and see that my faith in God has increased tremendously. So I know that it is God's will for us to increase. 3 John 2 says, Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. Now all things to me covers just about everything, and yes including money. The way you start to prosper in "all things", is you have to start prospering in your soul. If your heart is not right then you are never going to be prosperous. You could have a billion dollars in the bank, own five houses, three yachts, but that doesn't make you prosperous. When you have the love of Jesus inside your heart, and it shines boldly, and everyone can tell that there is something good about you, to me that is prosperity. John 10:10 Jesus says, "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."
Now it is also God's will for us to be prosperous. To some that may rub the wrong way but it depends what you consider to be prosperous. I don't believe that it is God's will for anyone to be broke, but at the same time I don't believe that it is God's will for people to have an abundance of money and not share it with those who are in need. The kingdom of God takes money, and majority of Christians do not tithe. So it is no wonder why God blesses those who do tithe with an abundance. Psalm 35:27 says, Let them shout for joy and be glad, Who favor my righteous cause; And let them say continually, “Let the LORD be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.” You see I believe that the Lord wants us to be prosperous in a way to magnify His glory. If I am broke because I don't believe that it is God's will for me to have money, then I am limiting what God can do in my life and what He can allow me to do for others in His name. You see your actions will always follow your beliefs. And your actions have consequences. If your actions are disbelief, then your consequence is lack there of what ever it is you are disbelieving. But if you believe that it is His will for you to prosper for the good of the kingdom, then He will prosper you. Job 36:11 says, If they obey and serve Him, They shall spend their days in prosperity, And their years in pleasures. I believe that part of obeying and part of serving God is to honor Him with our possessions, large or small. And if the Lord blesses you with money then it is your duty in the kingdom to give generously to those who are in need and do it to bring glory to God. I believe the same goes to those who have little also. God doesn't care what the amount is, He is more concerned with rather or not it is your best offering. That is one way the Lord uses people. 1 Timothy 6:17-19 says, Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. Proverbs 28:25 says, ...but he who trusts in the Lord will be prospered.

The scriptures also warn us to be aware of the wrongful type of increase or prosperity. Some people get a notion that it is because of their own doing that's the reason for their increase or wealth. This I believe is the reason why so many Christians are against "Prosperity preaching". I believe this could cause a lack in the area of your finances if you totally block this out. I say this because you receive according to your faith, and we all know faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. So if you cut prosperity totally out of your spiritual diet, then you are going to lack in that area. I don't believe that prosperity is the most important thing to preach on, however it is a portion of God's will so it has some significance. Colossians 2:18-19 in the NLT warns us not to focus the increase as our own doing, "Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud, and they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For he holds the whole body together with its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it." This tells us that God is the nourisher, not man. But nourishment covers all things not just the things of our spirit. God knows what it takes to get the message out there. To reach out to others it takes money, and this day and age it takes a lot of money. If you are wealthy in worldly things but you have nothing spiritually to show for it, what is the point. Some would say that they would be happier and they would for a season, but there would be a void that only Jesus could fill. The things of this world will perish, you can't take them with you. So they do you no good putting your faith in them. Ecclesiastes 5:10-11 in the NLT says, Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers!

Those who love God, and earnestly seek the things of the kingdom of God first, will enjoy the gifts God brings them. God is a rewarder to those who diligently seek Him, the Bible says so. Ecclesiastes 5:19 in the NLT says, And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God. I believe that this is the prosperity that is God's will for us. He loves us too much for His will to be to have us struggle in life. He wants us to enjoy life with Him, but your heart has to be right in order for this to happen. God is a God of increase, a God of prosperity, and a God of unlimited ability. He gives and He takes away. Have your heart in the right place and receive His love in all parts of your life. He doesn't want you to go through this world not equipped. As you equip your soul with the Word, He will take care of what you need and give you an abundance so you can enjoy some of it too. God is a good God. Hallelujah!

In Christ,

Eric R Cox