Walking in Prosperity

“The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered…” Genesis 39:2.

I decided to read up on the whole concept of prosperity since that seems to be the world’s motivation.  There is nothing greater in our society than the illusion of self-made success.  The Bible is clear that in the spiritual realm things either come to us from the evil kingdom or the spiritual kingdom…either from Satan or from God.  You can bet your bottom dollar that when we strive and toil to prosper ourselves and fund our own lives it does not come from God.  True biblical prosperity is always God-given, God-purposed and God-driven.  The definition of biblical prosperity is the blessed state of having the resource and ability to accomplish God’s will.  Nowhere in the biblical definition of prosperity is it about us other than how it is powered through intimacy with Him.  God always calls us into relationship first, and out of the overflow of that relationship come favor and prosperity. 

‘Just as Jesus called John to “come, follow Me,” so your calling as a Christian is to follow Jesus wherever He leads you.  Your job is simply an expression of God’s current activity in your life.  Your jobs have no eternal significance in and of themselves; they are vehicles of God’s eternal purposes when you are rightly relating to Him’ Experiencing God, p. 70.  When one job is complete it is because God's focus and activity in your life has shifted.  Joseph went from shepherd, to warden assistant, to supervisor, and then to administrator over everything.  God built these opportunities like bricks in a foundation out of the overflow of fellowship, purpose and future work for the kingdom.  For us to become prosperous we must become surrendered.  For us to gain the favor of God we must be motivated by our intimacy with God.  For us to grab hold of our future opportunities from God we must let go of the former ones.

Every bit of favor or blessings on our lives come from the Lord, who calls us…pursues us… adores us and invites us to join Him.  When we turn away from empty pursuits of prosperity, seek His heart and take His hand, we turn our backs on the world.  We follow Him in truth and righteousness for His name's sake and His glory.  We take on new compassion for things that break His heart, and give mercy in places we never have before.  Through our relationship and intimacy with God we live in a blessed state with the resources and abilities to accomplish God's will...true biblical prosperity.

 

'Misfortune pursues the sinner, but prosperity is the reward of the righteous.' Proverbs 13:21