The blessing of the LORD makes one rich,
and He adds no sorrow with it (Proverbs 10:22 NKJV).
Many
Christians are disturbed by the word ‘rich’, but yet they are very generous
with terms like ‘God bless you’. You see, you can only go as far as blessing
others with what you have (or own), because you are limited by your lack. But God
has no lack. In fact, everything that is on this earth is His and belongs to
Him (see Psalm 104:24). The truth is when God’s blessing is upon you, you can’t
help but being healthy, joyful, filled with peace, full, and as Proverbs 10:22
says, being rich!
The
extra bonus is God’s blessing comes with no-sorrow-attached!
What causes sorrow? Many people work hard to get wealth, power, and fame, but in the journey towards success,
many have to compromise their health, relationships, and even good conscience
to achieve their goals. Sicknesses, broken relationships, guilt, stress, and
pressure cause sorrow in one’s life. To
be rich without sorrow means you prosper without having to compromise any good
things in life. Yet, in order to bless us that way, God Himself had to compromise
(sacrifice) His only begotten Son, Jesus.
Christ has redeemed us from the curse of
the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone
who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the
Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit
through faith (Galatians 3:13-14 NKJV).
Jesus
died for you on the cross so that by your believing in Him, you are set free
from the curse of the law into the blessing of God’s grace. The way of the law
of this world is that you may (or sometimes may not) achieve the results according
to the amount of effort you put in your work. But with God’s grace upon your life, you receive much more than what your creative mind (or your diligent pair
of hands) is able to conceive (or achieve) on its own.
The Blessing of Abraham Is Upon You
It is always in the heart of your Father God to see you blessed because you are His son/daughter in Christ (see Galatians 3:26). In Christ, you are also made a spiritual heir of Abraham (see Galatians 3:29). In other words, the blessing God had promised Abraham and his biological descendants is upon you too!
What happens to someone who inherits the blessing of Abraham? The best person to refer to is none other than Abraham’s own son, Isaac (see Genesis 26). There was a famine in the land at that time, and any sound-minded person would naturally think of escaping to Egypt, the nation with a stronger economy then. But God appeared to Isaac and specifically told him not to go down to Egypt but dwell in the land He told him (v2-v3). He then obeyed and dwelt in Gerar, and that’s how He saw the result of God’s blessing when he sowed in that land. He reaped in the same year a hundredfold (v12), and the more amazing part is God’s blessing upon Isaac didn’t stop at the hundredfold!
The man (Isaac) began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous (Genesis 26:13 NKJV).
How would you like to be in Isaac’s shoes? The truth is you share the same blessing God had promised Abraham’s descendants through faith in Christ! (see Galatians 3:13-14)
While you are living on this earth as an heir of God, you are living both in the natural realm and spiritual realm. If you allow yourself to be succumbed to the ‘fact’ of circumstances around you, you are actually seeing and perceiving your situation from the world’s point of view. Unknowingly, you are putting yourself under the law of this world (i.e. worldly system/structure), and you always see the blessing of God in future tense (e.g. God will bless me).
But if you start to see your situation according to God’s words and His promises, you are agreeing with the ‘truth’. You are putting yourself above the worldly system. The seemingly unreachable future blessing is brought into the present (e.g. God is blessing me now). As a result, you are in the position to receive God’s blessing into your life. You send a great impact into the spiritual realm every time you believe, agree, think, speak, and act upon God’s words. Your faith causes the kingdom of God and His blessing to manifest in the natural realm. That’s how the truth of God becomes a reality in your life!
Handling Prosperity In Christ
Handling Prosperity In Christ
King David said it well in Psalm 37:3-4 about the heritage of God’s righteous people.
Trust in the LORD, and do (âsâh = accomplish, get, yield) good (tôwb =good things, bountiful, pleasant, prosperity, wealth); Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness (Psalm 37:3 NKJV).
People of God in the Bible (such as Abraham, Isaac and many others) trusted God and put their faith in His specific instructions to stay at specific places or positions. They prospered as they listened & acted upon the Lord’s guidance. Today, as you choose to listen to the Lord’s leading, to be in a specific nation, city, house, company, position, business or ministry, you will flourish like these people of faith. Listen to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and the peace of God that surface above the sense of obligation or guilt feeling that is self-imposed or imposed by others. You will definitely see the blessing and favour of God upon you, and you’ll prosper beyond your ability and self-effort.
Delight (ânag = soft, pliable) yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4 NKJV).
Some Christians are apprehensive of prospering because they are afraid they will fall into sin when they have the wealth that is more than their ability or ‘righteousness’ can handle. First of all, your righteousness is a free gift and the result from Christ’s work for you on the cross. No one can be perfectly righteous by imposing self-discipline. Second of all, if you have tasted the blessing of God by following His guidance, you would also know you need the Lord at all times to keep yourself on the right track.
The word ‘delight’ in Psalm 37:4 does not just indicate that you are happy or pleased with the Lord. The actual meaning in Hebrew, ‘ânag’ means you are soft and pliable before the Lord. Being soft and pliable is different from being ‘flexible’, as one can really be flexible with their self-generated ‘creative’ ideas. To be soft and pliable before the Lord means when the Lord says go right, you go right; and when the Lord says go left, you go left. It is letting the Lord have the say over your decision-making. That’s also when His desire becomes yours. When you are soft and pliable before the Lord, you will never go far from His will and there will be no chance for you to fall into sin. And His will for you is that you are prosperous and successful, to be the person He guides you to be, in the things He guides you to do, and in the place He guides you to settle in!
When you prosper in Christ, even though you have many good things of this world, you will not be easily succumbed to the values, pressures, or temptations of this world. Therefore, know and claim your blessing today as an heir of God through Christ.