Prosperity, is it simply wealth and good fortune? Is there more? Am I missing something? These are questions I have been asking myself lately. If prosperity is simply wealth and good fortune, then why do so many who closely follow God fall short of this blessing?
The darker side of this can be feeling like I’m falling sort of God’s desire for me. If I’m not seeking the next rung on the success ladder, if I don’t have financial stability, is it because God is punishing me?
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29: 11-12 NIV).
I decided I needed to know more about this often quoted scripture from Jeremiah. There has to be more to it than my Western interpretation. The Hebrew word for prosperity is tsaleach. It implies making steady favorable progress in God’s purposes, to be fruitful. It includes spiritual as well as physical and material.
To be prosperous is so much more than material wealth. I have prospered with my marriage and children. They are a blessing to me. I have prospered through these writings. There are no ads on this blogs, so no money is made. Yet, over and over again God shows me how it blesses others which also blesses me. I have prospered in my health. I have prospered in my faithfulness to God as my relationship with Him deepens.
Reframing prosperity has allowed me to see God in more places of my life. I am able to set aside the notion that it is simply wealth and good fortune. It is seeing God using me. It can be simply what I need versus my every desire.
Do you struggle with what it means to prosper? How has God prospered you in your life? Share your story here and breathe life and bring hope to others.