In this article I want to emphasize how God does want to do good things for us. We can believe this even in the face of terrible pain we may have been suffering, for reasons I outline below.
God has made us in such a way that when our bodies and minds are not in a right way, we normally feel pain. Its also normal to feel pain when we suffer some kind of loss - financial loss, the loss of a loved one, or rejection by someone we like.
Perhaps you have a lot of pain in your life even now. My wife and I have faced some pain recently, and this is common enough. The first thing to realise is that pain is there for a reason. It shows us that something is wrong. Certainly something is wrong with the world. That is obvious. And sometimes that is why we feel pain. We also feel pain because of what others do - we see something is wrong with them. But if we are honest, we will realise that in many ways we are just like others. Many times something is wrong with us. God uses pain to give us a strong motivation to fix what is wrong.
If God did not make these problems painful, I think we would be pretty happy to live with them. We would accept destruction and disorder if they had no potential to cause us pain. So the existence of pain itself is a good thing. It provides us with a strong incentive to get things RIGHT, so that the pain can be removed.
God is very interested in things being RIGHT, thats why he allows pain. The Bible says about God that "righteousness" and "justice" are the foundation of His throne. So God is very interested in things being "right". God wants us to have a right relationship with ourselves, with others and most of all with Him. To help us to have that relationship He has communicated with us through the Bible.
The Heart of God
The Bible says in 3 John 2, "Beloved, in regard to all things I pray that you prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers."
What God wants for us is for things to go well. He doesn't enjoy inflicting pain on people for no reason. The word here translated pray can also be translated "wish" or "desire". It is God's desire that we prosper, that things go well, that we be in health. God is a good God. He loves us and desires good things for us - even as a good father desires good for his children. His basic desire for us is that we be healthy in body, mind and spirit, and even that we enjoy the fulfilment that comes from achieving great things. But even before all that, God wants our love as obedient children. He wants us to have the right attitudes, motivations, desires and thoughts. When we have these, it can truly be said of us that "our souls prosper". When we don't, God will use discipline, even as a father would. Please note the verse again, "I pray that you prosper and be in health, EVEN AS YOUR SOUL PROSPERS." If your soul is not prospering - if your thinking is seriously wrong in God's eyes - then He won't be ready to heal you and make your life prosper. In fact, He might even allow a very painful thing in your life in order to get your attention. This he will do whether you are a Christian believer or not.
God said through the prophet Isaiah, "If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good of the land. But if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword". (Isaiah 1:19, 20). This verse tells us that God will bless those who are willing and obedient to Him - even to the point of giving us the BEST food to eat and the BEST things to enjoy. But it also shows that there are some people who know God well enough that God will even
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amen and amen.. and also it
amen and amen.. and also it brings to mind that when we truly live our lives for our Lord and see to the needs of his children that all of our needs are taken care of. I am a living witness of that and give God praise and thanks.
Yes that is true, a follower
Yes that is true, a follower of Jesus must sometimes give up all that he has in this world. But that does not mean ALWAYS having nothing. Gaius in 3 John 2, the person to whom the apostle John wrote, obviously had a house which he was using for hospitality in the Lord's work. He was ABLE to send preachers off with some money for their trip. You cannot do that unless you have some money.
The thing about giving up all wealth was not preached in every message of the apostles in the Book of Acts. Right now I cannot think of any where it WAS preached. But following Jesus means giving your life to Jesus, and sometimes the Lord will demand that one gives up everything and SELLS it. Other times possessions may be kept in stewardship for God's use as and when He requires.
God's intention still remains that his followers have all they need so that they can be generous on every occasion.
When a man asked Jesus what
When a man asked Jesus what more he should do to be sure he made it into heaven, Jesus said to sell everything that he had and give the money to the poor didn't he?
The really classy people do
The really classy people do not carry a lot of cash on them. Their name is enough. In the case of Jesus, he could arrange for the feeding of 5000 men and their families with almost no apparent resources present.
Godly prosperity will operate differently to the prosperity of Babylon.
Jesus said that a man's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.
It is therefore not vital to have a big bank balance or vast real estate or stock holdings to be prosperous. What is needed is the ability to be generous on every occasion so that the will of God gets done.
It is so simple. Was Jesus
It is so simple.
Was Jesus the Christ prosperous during His presence in this World ?
Again, we the Believers must define PROSPERITY which is positively different from that of this World. We are a peculiar people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation.
Therefore, all Believers must know the prosperity now as a Co-Heir of Christ.
Do Saints, suffer for their faith in Jesus Christ or do they enjoy and celebrate the suffering with songs and praises joyfully?
The early we feed ourselves on SOLID MEAT the more matured and blessed we are in CHRIST JESUS.
God bless.
It is true that some
It is true that some brothers and sisters are suffering BECAUSE of their faith and love for God. There are people persecuting them. Persecuting Christians is a sin. Now, is it God's will for this sin to be happening?
I myself don't like to talk in terms of prosperity as a "right". But it is God's general desire for mankind. The BIBLE says concerning the man who meditates on God's Word day and night, "WHATEVER HE DOES SHALL PROSPER" (Psalm 1:3). If we are not comfortable with the promises of God it is not because those promises are false.
Prosperity is not about accumulating luxuries and toys. A person who is being persecuted can prosper in the work of the Lord. Paul did. He achieved his purpose. Obviously, in an environment where one's property can be confiscated for being an active Christian it is pretty foolish to major on accumulating wealth. True prosperity is to do the will of God and finish the assignment God gives you.
Even if we are not prospering and everything seems to be going rotten it does not mean that we are necessarily more disobedient than anyone else. It is not so simple. There are times of going through trials and sometimes we will suffer loss for a SEASON, as Job did. But we do well to remember that in Job's case God gave him much more than he had lost in the end.
Most of the time when we lose things it is because of our foolishness, our lack of wisdom. I can say that it has been like that in my life, at least.
I hope you will understand what I am saying and take note that I do not endorse what every so called prosperity preacher has said or will say. There is false teaching amongst some of them.
Trust the devil to muddy the waters in an area of critical importance to the spreading of the gospel in the last days.
I have re-read my comment
I have re-read my comment and abide by what I have written. thankyou for the opportunity to do so, Eunice
This article disturbed me
This article disturbed me somewhat! I guess I've always been very "sus" about 'prosperity" teaching and some things said herein I could not feel comfortable with. Some of our brothers and sisters in Christ are suffering at this very moment, not thru' 'not being right with God" but from persecution, BECAUSE of their faith and love for God. The sun and rain falls on the just and unjust, without rain, there's no rainbows. "Tho' He slay me yet will I serve Him!" NOT just when things are going well for me but when it looks and feels as tho' He has forgotten me and I don't hear from Him...if I receive "prosperous things", including health, then that's a bonus! But if I expect it as my "right" that I've earned it by shedding sins then what happens to my "faith" when trials, persecution PAIN comes? The idea that good things will be my lot IF and WHEN I'm sin-free does not sit comfortably within my spirit. I felt to share that I felt uneasy with this article. Kind regards, Eunice
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