"Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest
prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth."
- 3 John 2
There is no doubt in my mind that the will of God clearly states God wants us blessed financially. David even declared, "Let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servants" (Psalm 35:27). Jesus himself taught in his Sermon on the Mount that God was a gracious giver, and that he wanted his children to have good things. According to Matthew chapter seven, he tells us: "If ye then being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?"(Matthew 7:11). The statement, "how much more" captures just a glimpse of the benevolent heart of God and how much he wants to bless his children. It even transcends the good wishes we have for our own children.
With this in mind, let's consider a few things that define true prosperity. To begin with, we need to start at the foundation. In a general sense, prosperity represents success. God wishes you success in every area of your life - spirit, soul, and body. But in wishing someone to be prosperous and to be in health even as their soul prospers, encompasses far more than just success. It is the basis for complete and total wholeness. Romans 1:16, says, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." The Greek word for salvation is SOTERIO, which means to experience wholeness and completeness in every area of your life, such as: safety, preservation, deliverance, healing, freedom from the power of sin, and all the effects of sin, including any area of insufficiency.
This marvelous plan of salvation has the force to drive out every oppressive force of lack, want, and poverty. In other words, to be saved means that God is now to become your provider. He first provides you with deliverance from the all the power of the enemy. Then he offers his provision for you to become free from fears, agitating passions, and every kind of moral conflict. He extends his hand to become your true shepherd, one who meets your needs and supplies you with everything that pertains to life and godliness.
The 23rd Psalm is a beautiful depiction of how God wants to touch every need in your life. It even starts off saying: "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want." "Want" is actually a state of being where the provision of God is missing. Sometimes you may experience moments of lack, whether it be in your mind, your body, or your everyday walk with God, but that is not the idea David is expressing here. What he is declaring is the full provision that comes with making the Lord your Shepherd. And as a result, you begin to live above the control of a spirit of want. God becomes your need meeter. You have to understand that poverty is a spirit and that it goes far beyond just the absence of money. There are a lot of people who are millionaires who are spiritually and emotionally bankrupt. True prosperity touches far more than financial success. It must include freedom of any form of lack where the provision of God is actively working in your life, whether it is in your emotions, your attitude, your relationships, your physical body, and yes, even in your finances.
God is the truest source of your success. He is the only one who can lift the burden of sin and all its effects, and fill you will such peace that it makes you feel like you are bigger than life itself. The closer you move toward God the deeper and richer your life will become. Out of the midst of that richness you will find life extending itself into the physical realm, the mental realm, and the financial realm.
Since money and all that appertains to any sort of monetary gain is strictly an earthly blessing, the question we must ask ourselves is how does it fit into the prosperity of our spiritual walk with God? In one sense, there is no real connection - at all! Heaven does not operate on any kind of monetary system. There is no amount of money or the lack of it that can ever keep you from having a personal relationship with your heavenly Father. Money does not determine your value nor does it determine your spirituality. Yet, we do know that being blessed financially is just as much a part of God's plan for your life as it is to be in health or to prosper in your soul. I think where much of the problem lies is where folks think that if God wants me to have money then he will automatically make it happen. That is not the case. There is an enemy that does not want you to experience salvation, regardless of what area it applies. It takes using your faith and acting on the Word, and knowing how to stand your ground against every opposing circumstance. When you determine to do that, then you are on your way to true prosperity!*
