Three Ways to Be Prosperous (Part 3 of 3)

What is your relationship with God like?

Are you close to Him?

Do you feel His presence?

Or is God a distant rule giver and law enforcer?

Your relationship with your earthly father may effect how you see your heavenly Father and may affect your ability to prosper.

Because I had no father growing up, for many years my image of God was one of a distant, untouchable being, sitting on a throne far, far away. How could I feel love for a God who I couldn’t see, touch or feel?

But to be prosperous, the Bible says we must love, yet fear God, and be obedient to his Word.

“Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments” (Deuteronomy 6:9).

I had to realize that God was not AWOL in my life. I opened my eyes to how he brought me out of difficult circumstances. I witnessed his supernatural hand, guiding me. After five years of seminary training, I realized that God is greater than my finite mind can grasp, and that is what led to my desire to please Him and to develop a healthy fear of Him.

Psalm 112:1-3 says, “Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments! His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.”

We are prosperous when we put God in His proper place.

He is the loving Father who created us, but he is also the one who has the keys to life and death. He is in control, not us, and in his hand is our success. In an article by William D. Eisenhower in Christianity Today, he said, “As I walk with the Lord, I discover that God poses an ominous threat to my ego, but not to me. He rescues me from my delusions, so he may reveal the truth that sets me free. He casts me down, only to lift me up again. He sits in judgment of my sin, but forgives me nevertheless. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but love from the Lord is its completion.”

Do you want to be prosperous? Erase all preconceived images of God and press into what the Bible says about Him. Ask God to reveal His true nature to you, then you too will discover the recipe of love for your heavenly Father, combined with obedience, mixed with healthy fear that will lead to prosperity in your life.

 

 

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