The Lord takes Pleasure in the Prosperity of His Servants – Part V
From The HeartPublish date: 08/21/2011
Let those who favor my righteous cause and have pleasure in my uprightness shout for joy and be glad and say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, Who takes pleasure in the prosperity of His servant. Psalm 35:27 AMP
The reason that many of God’s children are so poor is that they do not trust in Father God as Jehovah Jireh, their Provider. Because they don’t trust in Him, they do not ask and receive as He has promised:
What leads to strife (discord and feuds) and how do conflicts (quarrels and fightings) originate among you? Do they not arise from your sensual desires that are ever warring in your bodily members? 2 You are jealous and covet [what others have] and your desires go unfulfilled; [so] you become murderers. [To hate is to murder as far as your hearts are concerned.] You burn with envy and anger and are not able to obtain [the gratification, the contentment, and the happiness that you seek], so you fight and war. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 [Or] you do ask [God for them] and yet fail to receive, because you ask with wrong purpose and evil, selfish motives. Your intention is [when you get what you desire] to spend it in sensual pleasures. James 4:1-3 AMP
And we receive from Him whatever we ask, because we [watchfully] obey His orders [observe His suggestions and injunctions, follow His plan for us] and [habitually] practice what is pleasing to Him. 1 John 3:22 AMP
God has provided abundantly for His children – He has made no limits on the blessings they can receive or on getting what they want in this life. Having wealth is not a sin! Father God is not opposed to His children being prosperous and having money. Money can be a great blessing that can be used to do God’s work and to help those in need – this is the very reason and purpose for asking God for prosperity.
The Lord warns mankind against trusting in riches, which could potentially destroy their souls, but covetousness and the wrong use of money are sins over which God’s people can get the victory just as they can get the victory over any other sin!
Don’t trust in your power to take things by force. Don’t think you will gain anything by stealing. And if you become wealthy, don’t put your trust in riches. 11 God says there is one thing you can really depend on, and I believe it: “Strength comes from God!” Psalms 62:10-11 ERV
He who leans on, trusts in, and is confident in his riches shall fall, but the [uncompromisingly] righteous shall flourish like a green bough. Proverbs 11:28 AMP
And beware lest you say in your [mind and] heart, My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth. 18 But you shall [earnestly] remember the Lord your God, for it is He Who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. Deuteronomy 8:17-18 AMP
As for what was sown among thorns, this is he who hears the Word, but the cares of the world and the pleasure and delight and glamour and deceitfulness of riches choke and suffocate the Word, and it yields no fruit. Matthew 13:22 AMP
Let your character or moral disposition be free from love of money [including greed, avarice, lust, and craving for earthly possessions] and be satisfied with your present [circumstances and with what you have]; for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!] Hebrews 13:5 AMP
As for the rich in this world, charge them not to be proud and arrogant and contemptuous of others, nor to set their hopes on uncertain riches, but on God, Who richly and ceaselessly provides us with everything for [our] enjoyment. 18 [Charge them] to do good, to be rich in good works, to be liberal and generous of heart, ready to share [with others], 19 In this way laying up for themselves [the riches that endure forever as] a good foundation for the future, so that they may grasp that which is life indeed. 1 Timothy 6:17-19 AMP
Money is not the root of all evil – the love of money is the root of all evil. People are led astray, wander from their faith, and cause themselves much grief and anguish by their craving of money and riches (1 Timothy 6:10). These warnings are given to us by Father God – not so we would believe that poverty is a means to salvation – but so that when we are saved and living for God, that we know how to correctly govern our money and financial affairs and that we conduct our business in righteousness when the Lord prospers us.
Poverty does not make you a better person. It is time that the body of Christ wake up to the fact that God wants to prosper us and that He also wants to use us to be a blessing wherever we go. We have to understand that He has a higher plan for our lives – we are stewards of all the vast resources of God – a pipeline, carrying God’s blessings to others. If we try to control and contain the resources He places in our hands, then we will block and limit our potential to be used by Him and also block our own blessing. If we understand that all we have at our disposal is given by God and that we are His channel of blessing, then we will allow it to flow through our hands at His direction and by His leadings and promptings. As we righteously steward these resources, without covetousness or fear, we will find that our own life is abundantly blessed and prosperous as well!
The Lord is pleased when everyone is blessed!