Does God Want Me to Prosper?

John 10:10 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.

3 John 2 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

This week the Lord put it on my pastor’s heart to hold a “Prosperity Conference” at our church. Every night, we had dinner at 6 pm and Bible study at 7 pm. It was an incredible, blessed week.
The first thing he taught us is that “prosperity” isn’t just about money. The definition of prosperity is “to flourish, grow, do well, succeed, increase, BOOM” in every area of our lives, including health, relationships, career, ministry, family, and finances.

God created us to prosper, just as He blessed Adam and Eve in the garden when He told them to be fruitful and multiply and have dominion over the earth. Sure, Adam and Eve messed up. But that didn’t change God’s original intention.

If you’re a parent, you didn’t have children because you had a burning desire to watch them struggle, suffer and fail. When they were born, you had high hopes that they would ultimately succeed in life and be blessed, in spite of the unavoidable challenges they will face. So, how could we imagine that God would have evil intentions for our lives? How could we think for a moment that He enjoys seeing us live in constant struggle, failure, and defeat?

No, I have come to believe that, while trials and tribulations are an inevitable part of life in this fallen world, we bring much of it on ourselves because that’s what we EXPECT from life. We are lulled into thinking life is supposed to be all about failure, and there’s nothing we can do to change it.

The truth is, there’s a lot we do to bring failure and defeat into our lives. If we just float along with the tide, our lives will be miserable indeed. But if we start believing God’s promises and obeying what He tells us to do, if we truly become “new creations” in Christ Jesus and leave the garbage behind, we will start to live in a His kingdom right here and now—a kingdom of miracles, blessings, abundance, and VICTORY over our circumstances. I don’t know about you, but I have decided to settle for nothing less.

If you aren’t willing to fight the good fight of faith and pursue the prosperity God intended you to have for your OWN sake, remember that your life reflects on Him as your Lord. When people look at your life, are they drawn to Jesus? Or do they feel like they’re better of without Him?

Think about it!

Your sister in Christ,

Cathleen