Understanding God's Version of Prosperity

YOUR INVITATION TO A LIFE OF HOLISTIC PROSPERITY

Have you thought about what it means to truly prosper in your life the way God designed you to prosper? In 3rd John, John declares,

Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. — 3 John 1:2 NASB

The holistic vision for prosperity we find in scripture goes way beyond financial prosperity. It is an experience that impacts every part of our life!

What would a more prosperous life look like for you? How would life change if you started to grow in relational prosperity with the people that mean the most in your life? What about spiritual prosperity? How might we be stronger and more able to weather the storms of life if our spirit was prospering with an overflow of faith, hope and love? In this devotional we want to provide an introduction to the ways of prosperity God has laid out for us — relationally, spiritually, emotionally, physically, financially, professionally, cognitively and socially!

While our desire is to lay out practical steps to take towards growth in these areas, the goal of this devotional is simply to start by laying out the perspective God has on prospering in each area. As we align our perspective with His, we open up doors for change and transformation that we have never noticed before! As children of God, we must be willing to pursue the Biblical perspective God provides.

Ultimately, prosperity is not just about us, but about being better equipped to live lives that truly imitate and glorify God!

Relational Prosperity

Relationships are some of the biggest joys and biggest pains in most of our lives. When relationships are going well, it brings a wellspring of life to us! We know from Genesis 2:18 that God believes it is not good for us to be alone. But sometimes, it feels much easier to be alone than navigate challenges that certain relationships bring. Sometimes relationships can be downright hurtful and heartbreaking. But God’s vision is for relationships to bring us blessings! His Word demonstrates that He values relationships with us, and is willing to endure pain, loss and sadness for the joy of pursuing reunion and better relationships with mankind. His perfect vision for us is that the lonely are in families and our relationships are fruitful and multiply in every way!

Spiritual Prosperity

Spiritual prosperity is all about proximity to God and His spirit! Our spirit is powerful and even scientific research is starting to recognize the positive impact of spiritual practices on our health, mind and relationships. Philippians 4:13 points out that our access to the ability to do “all things” comes through Christ who gives us the strength to do things we cannot do on our own. Relationship with God also brings us hope! We increase our spiritual prosperity as we draw close to God and allow Him to have priority in our life, when we talk to Him about our relationships, thoughts and feelings He gives us the strength to make changes!

Emotional and Physical Prosperity

Unfortunately, many of us have a history of valuing other areas of our life more than our emotional and physical health. When we look to Jesus, we see someone who greatly valued emotional health and physical health for Himself and for His people. Jesus often went away to rest His body. In Mark 4, He somewhat humorously demonstrated valuing good sleep more than stress during a storm! If we truly believe we are made in the image of God, then we must believe that God has just as much emotional capacity as us, and in fact, has experienced all the emotions we have. He wants to nurture and support us through them! He wants our emotions to bring us good fruit in our life. God the Father, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus all are connected with bringing us better emotional health. With Him we can be led out of fear and discouragement, be comforted, and receive rest when we are burdened (Deuteronomy 31:8, John 14:26, Matthew 11:28).

Financial Prosperity

Philippians 4:19 says

And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

It would not be biblical to shy away from a discussion about finances, in fact, we see Jesus never did! Both the old and new testaments are filled with examples of God’s thoughts on money. The key is to remember it is a tool that God gives us to help see heaven come to earth and the fulfillment of His will. In heaven, we will not be struggling for fiances, we will not be living as paupers, nor will we be lusting for money. God desires for us to have enough, and we do not honor Him by rejecting this! By focusing on finances in the way Jesus did, we can grow to have a healthy, thriving perspective of money.

Professional Prosperity

Jesus worked as a carpenter for years before continuing to work for God. Jesus said in John 5:17,

My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I too am working.

Work is a gift given to us to imitate Christ! There are blessings wrapped up in work, that sometimes, our culture does not always acknowledge. There is divine purpose in why God has called us to work. Scientific research has shown that when we work in a healthy way and in a healthy environment, it often improves our self-esteem, improves our physical and mental health, and improves our access to resources through connection with coworkers, clients and other people we meet through work. Let’s consider God’s purpose and promises for the workplace.

Mindsets that Create Prosperity

The mind is a valuable asset, but can also be a liability. One of the most popular and effective forms of therapy is called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). This therapy asserts that the way we think about ourselves, others in our world, and our future determines how much we will thrive in our lives. Sometimes, we unknowingly limit ourselves, others and our future simply because of the way we think! But God knew this long before CBT! We are encouraged to have the mind of Christ, set our mind on things above, and dwell on things that are good and helpful (1 Corinthians 2:16, Colossians 3:2, Philipians 4:8). No matter what we feel is true, if we start replacing unhelpful thoughts with ones that are helpful, we can actually change our whole life!

Social Prosperity

God demonstrates the value for community in Himself through the Trinity. He also demonstrates this value in the way He created the world. He desires for the Church to operate as a body working together with unity (Romans 12:4-5, Ephesians 4:2-3)! It is called “good and pleasant” when we get alone (Psalm 133: 1). These days we face much division in our world, and with that division comes pain, anger and lack of fulfilment. But God knows the things that bring us together and as we look to Him for vision and ideas, we can start to see transformation on a global scale.

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As we focus on prospering in the ways God designed, we get to know more about Him and His heart!

As we take this journey together, we invite the guiding truth that true prosperity starts and ends with a relationship with Jesus. Jesus is the definition of prosperity. He came to earth and boldly announced,

I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. — John 10:10

He has given us access to abundance through Him, and as we partner with Him we are meant to seek out and pursue the abundance He has given!

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Written for Devotionals Daily by Jeremy and Ally Butrous, authors of Ways of Prosperity.

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Your Turn

Finances aren’t the only kind of prosperity God designed for us! He planned abundance for us in every way! Come share your thoughts on the ways of prosperity on our blog. We want to hear from you! ~ Devotionals Daily