How to Bring God's Good Plan In To Existence?
By Abraham Israel
God's word says, "The LORD is good" (Nah 1:7). But have you experientially tasted and have seen that the Lord is good in all types of circumstances you face (Psa 34:8)? When was the last time in the midst of all your problems you were able to say, "I praise you dear Lord because you are always good." This is the real test of faith we face in our day today lives. Remember, every time we are tested for faith, the whole of heaven will be watching in awe of how we will react to our problems. In the days when Job lived, the same happened, the man of God Job who faced problems of financial lose and death of loved ones in catastrophic proportions. But he began to bless the Lord in the midst of all the ruins. God testified before all the angels and Satan, "In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong." (Job 1:22). Then a little while later Job was completely stuck by Satan with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head, which made him take a pot-sherd to scrape himself while he sat in the midst of ashes (Job 2:7-8). In the midst of all this deterioration of health, Job did not sin by speaking against God. Instead Job began to worship the Lord being grateful for what he has already enjoyed from the hands of God in the past!
Satan had power over Job's wife to kill her by God's permission (Job 1:12), but he did not do it because Satan like he had reached and deceived Adam through Eve in his weak moment, he tried to reach Job through his wife cunnigly, and eventually Satan made her speak to Job saying,“Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!” 10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips. (Job 2:9-10). In other words, Job with his limited knowledge of what is happening behind the scene in the heavenlies, he thought God has sent some adversity his way, so why not accept adversity when the same God has been so good to him in the past. It was not God who was good sometimes and bad some other time. It was Satan who desired to afflict Job because he had a foothold of spiritual pride in the heart of Job, but God used it for the lifting up Job to greater heights spiritually with Him by allowing the affliction in His sovereignty. Job's faith was tested by God and was proved to all the heavenly hosts that he was not following God just because he was blessed by God in all areas of his life. He followed God because of his love towards him. In this God Himself testified that in all this Job did not sin, what an awesome Testimony! In these days of false spirituality, we should learn what it means to be truly spiritual. Praise the Lord! To be really spiritual is to stay in faith and say, "God is good even though I do not feel an iota of goodness in my circumstances all around me." To say something like the above in the midst of all our trials and storms glorifies God greatly and reinstates the unchanging goodness of the Character of God and His good intentions towards us all individually in this planet earth. In the midst of the barrages of Satanic lies that deceives men all around us in the world which only believes God as long as all things goes good, God is looking for someone who is ready to stand in faith in the midst of all impossibilities of unbelief like Job and declare the unchanging goodness of our God and Saviour.
We can easily find out people's spirituality in the midst of the unsolvable problems they face. A spiritually mature person will not grumble against God or the situation when they face problematic storms in their life. Spiritually poor people like the Israelites, saw the miracles God did for them and forgot it as fast as possible because of their carnal living without faith. When again some impossibilities came to them immediately they started to grumble against God and did not believe His goodness in the midst of storms they faced (Psa 106:12-15). God's blessing will not be experieced in one's soul when such a spiritually shallow life of false spirituality is promoted and lived by the carnal Christians who think that they are spiritual. The bottomline is, "DECLARE THE UNCHANGING GOODNESS OF GOD IN THE MIDST OF IMPOSSIBILITIES OF LIFE."
God has good plans for each one of us. God has promised in His word to each one of us who believe in Him and love Him unconditionally, saying, "9 ...“ Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” 10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God." (1 Cor 2:9-10). Here in the above verses we find the true secret to develop all true spirituality. When we start to love God irrespective of the circumstances we go through, the Spirit of God starts to reveal all the secret things of amazing miraculous plans and purpose that God has planned for our lives. When we tell some carnal people that God has a great plan for their lives, they will say with a big shout, 'Yes I do believe what you are saying. Amen!' But when God tunes up their spiritual themostat to make some small changes in their comfort zone, immediately they will start to grumble, murmur and begin to question God about His goodness. Those who question God whenever they go through a test of faith will stay in the same place without growth at all. Why? God starts the spiritual lessons where a person fails to progress and then He takes them higher spiritually. God will never bypass a spiritual lesson just because we continiously fail to learn it. God waits patiently until we choose to pass the spiritual test and walk along with Him forward.
We can never go higher spiritually than our attitudes we exhibit during the hour of the storm. God is there in the heavenlies to test us as our spiritual mentor, we are here on earth as his student to trust Him in the midst of all the so called seeming impossibilities of life. I have seen believers who have been in the Church serving the Lord in some capacity, who have failed to grow spiritually because of resisting the lesson that God was trying to teach them. I have not seen them blessed and they pass this attitude to their children, who also become affected with such spiritual stubbornness resisting God and godly authority in their lives too. May we ask God to help us maintain our thankful and praising attitude during our stoms of life so that we might grow spiritually more and more mature.
Some times we think what seem to be good are God's plan for our lives. It is a spiritual deception to think that all that seem good are from God. Some times people learn spiritual lessons from God and his servants only until they become financially blessed. Once a lot of money comes in to their lives they start to think that it is based on their own righteous lifestyle that God has started to bless them, forgetting the source from which they were blessed. When you are associated with a man who walks with God and have the promise of God behind him, you are positioned to be blessed abundantly in your life. This happened to Lot who was the cousin of Patriarch Abraham. When God told Abraham to leave His family and father's family to go the land that God has promised to show in the future, Lot his wife's brother accompanied him in faith (Gen 12:1-5). As a result of believing the promise given to Abraham, Lot prospered greatly (Gen 13:5). Once extreme riches came to Lot by godly association with Abraham, he forgot the godly vessel through which he became prosperous and thus became proud enough to lose his spiritual balance (Gen 13:7). The strife that came between the herdsmen of Lot's livestock and Abram's livestock was because of Lot losing his spiritual balace through pride of false spirituality. He could have easily told the herds men of his to value the men of Abraham's livestock more than themselves, because it is through their Master's obedience to God that they are altogether blessed by God. But the attitude of Lot became so wrong and unteachable that the Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land (Gen 13:7).
Abraham was such a good man that he told Lot who was much younger than him, "8 ..., “Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.”" (Gen 13:8-9). Actually Lot was a young fellow and just a cousin, yet Abraham respected him in such a way that he said, "we are brethren." What a humility! God will bring his good plan to fruition step by step only to people who are humble and are spiritually stable enough to think and value others highly than themselves, even though they might be in reality or not (Php 2:3). Abraham at this point realised his mistake that he cannot take all of his relatives and family against the will of God and expect them to be blessed along with him. So knowing the shallow spirituality of Lot, Abraham wisely gave him a choice to depart. He knew that keeping Lot with him just because of blood relationship will make their enemies to rejoice and take over their land by seeing the strife and quarrel that comes between their herdsmen, because of Lot's bad attitude. Greedy man as Lot was, chose the best land of the plain of Jordan which was well watered everywhere and pitched his tent towards the properous city life and comfort (Gen 13:10-11). If Lot was really a teachable spiritual man, he would told Abraham that it was because of staying with him that he became prosperous and so would not depart from him. From this we should understand that good is the enemy of the best plans that God has for our lives. Many so called things that might seem to be good might be a test of God to see what we will choose, Money or God, selfish-ambition or fullfilling the will of God. When we choose God and His will, rather than what might seem to be good to our eyes and feelings, God will honor our choice to fullfill all His good plans for our lives. By rejecting the man of God Abraham who was the vessel of blessing to Lot, Lot rejected the will of God for his life by his own spiritual pride. May we never neglect the man of God whom God has given to us for spiritual guidance by our own foolish spiritual pride and lose the blessings of heaven.
It is easy for God to bless His people, but it takes time for Him to train them and make them spiritually stable, so that they can enjoy the wealth which He gives and use it completely for His purpose to be done on earth with thankfullness in their lives. God Himself said the same thing and warned Israelites not to let the prideful attitude of religiosity to come in to their heart once they become rich, and as a result of it abort God's plan that He has for their lives.
When we forget God who is our blessor, then there is always a danger of getting lost in our own prideful fleshly plans which God hates and resists. Here is what God says to us as much as he said to Israelites, "10 When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you. 11 “Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, 12 lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; 13 and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; 14 when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; 15 who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock; 16 who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end— 17 then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’ 18 “And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. 19 Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the LORD your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. 20 As the nations which the LORD destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the LORD your God." (Deut 8:10-20).
When we are filled with prosperity from God, there is a danger of forgetting God who has blessed us. There is a big danger of forgetting the servants of God whom God uses to bless us. This is the reason God takes us through spiritual storms, wilderness and trials to test us and keep our heart attitude humble before God and men. When we are filled with the good things of life and prosperity, it is given so that we might be thankful and live in the attitude of gratitude to bless the Lord in each and every living moment of our lives. When material prosperity comes to us, say we build a nice home as the Lord blesses our work or buisness, we should be careful not to forget our Lord by starting to walk in our own way and complacently stop seeking to find the will of God for every situation we face (Matt 6:33).
When riches increases in property and gold, rich food and in cars, good jobs and in social influence, do not set your heart on it (Psa 62:10). When you do, your heart will be lifted up and you will forget the Lord who has unconditionally forgiven your sin and have taken you from the house of bondage of the slavery of Satan's darkness (Acts 26:18). When you have walked in the spiritual wilderness where demonic spirits of snakes and scorpions were present, the Lord gave you His very own power over it and have protected you through out your journey (Luke 10:19-20). So it is God who has given you the power to prosper spiritually, soulishly, physically, financially and socially. It is God who makes you wealthy because He has desired it for you (Psa 35:27). When he has prosperd you in His time, it is without adding any sorrows of the world to it that he has prospered you (Pro 10:22). So stay stable in your spiritual life by being humble and loyal before the Lord as always when you are rich and sufficient.
God does not want you to live like a hermit and live a ascetic lifestyle, but he wants you not to set your heart on any riches when it increases. He wants you to wholeheartedly use the riches to store riches in heaven by using it for helping poor people, extending His kingdom work, by supporting para-Church ministries on the internet and for Churches to be planted around the world (Matt 6:19-21, 33; 19:21). We are clearly instructed in the Bible by the great Apostle Paul to set our minds on things above and no on things on earth (Col 3:1-2). In other words, the purpose for which Christ laid hold of us, for the same purpose we should lay hold on to Him tightly so that we could fullfill His plans for our lives through His strength and power working through us (Php 3:12; 2:13). We cannot serve an idol and also our true living God. In our New Testament times, the word idol represents money mainly and it is clearly expressed that "coveteousness...is idolatry" (Col 3:5). We cannot serve and worship both money and God at the same time (Luke 16:13). We ought to be careful in this regard and live only for the purpose of God to be fullfilled in our lives, so that the Lord will continue to proper us and will bring all the good plans of His to fruition in our lives. THE BOTTOM LINE IS, DON'T FORGET WHO BLESSED YOU! Hurray to our good Lord who works out His good plans continiously!!
Even though God saved all the Israelites from Egypt, many of them were destroyed in the wilderness testing time itself because of lack of faith and unbelief (Jude 1:5). Even though many believers are born again to be taken from the slavery of Satan's clutches, very few believers enter in to Caanan land of the restful heavenly spiritual life of abundance (Heb 4:1-3; Matt 11:28-30). Because spiritual leaders like Caleb and Joshua were having different spirit of Faith in them (Num 14:24, 30-31), God was pleased with them and took the little ones along with them, who were told by their parents that they will become victims in the wilderness (Num 14:31). From this we know that if we are grumpy enough to complain against the Lord and test Him again and again even after seeing the glorious salvation, forgiveness of sins, provision and protection of God after we are born again, we will die without any further spiritual progress in our lives.
This is the sad state of many believers in our times too. But if we choose to live by the different spirit of faith which says that we can reach the spiritual Canaan of God's perfect rest if the Lord delights is us and if we do not fear our spiritual enemies as we continue to walk with Him, and keep believing that God's plan for our life is good and prosperous only even as we do not see it in our times of storms and wilderness walk (Num 14:7-9), then all the good promises of God and his good plans that He has for our life will very soon come to pass. And like Joshua one day at the end of our earthly lives we too will declare with a victorious cry, “Behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth. And you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spoke concerning you [and me]. All have come to pass for you [and me]; not one word of them has failed." (Jos 23:14).
Knowing that God is working all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Rom 8:28), we should continue to walk in faith. We should expect the best even when all we see is giants standing before us. We should speak positively based on our faith and the Lord will be very pleased to see and hear us walk in this different spirit of faith (2 Cor 4:13). We have a great God who will lead us step by step in to our destiny as we continue to walk in the spirit of faith. The heavenly life of rest and refreshment will increase more and more in our lives as we keep on walking in faith. NEVER GIVE UP! NEVER GIVE UP, BECAUSE GOD HAS NOT GIVEN UP ON YOU AND HAS PROMISED TO NEVER LEAVE YOU NOR FORSAKE YOU AS YOU KEEP WALKING THE FAITH WALK OF VICTORY (Heb 13:5)! It is we who have the potential to fullfill God's good plan by walking in faith or breaking it by our own complaining and unbelief.
Pray with me Saints : Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for being always good. Help us to face storms of life with faith and speak faith like the man of God Job did in His life, yes it was for His spiritual good that you allowed such spiritual storm to hit His life, so that he could be blessed more than all. In the same way, all the storms we face, give us the courage to stand for you so that your name might be glorified through us. Help us to recognize humbly the godly association you have set for us and value the men and women of God whom you have given to feed our spirit spiritually. May I never forget you when you start to bless me and then help me use my blessing to extend your kingdom, thus collecting my treasures in heaven where the moth does not eat it or any thief can steal it (Matt 6:20). Help me to walk continiously in the spirit of faith and live positively, speaking forth your purpose in to existence. Thank you and praise you that you will bring all your purpose and plans that you have for me, my family and Church in to existence and fullfill it to fruition. Help me to fullfill the GOOD PLANS even to the end of my life. In JESUS MIGHTY NAME, Amen and Amen!
much BLESSINGS....
Satan had power over Job's wife to kill her by God's permission (Job 1:12), but he did not do it because Satan like he had reached and deceived Adam through Eve in his weak moment, he tried to reach Job through his wife cunnigly, and eventually Satan made her speak to Job saying,“Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!” 10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips. (Job 2:9-10). In other words, Job with his limited knowledge of what is happening behind the scene in the heavenlies, he thought God has sent some adversity his way, so why not accept adversity when the same God has been so good to him in the past. It was not God who was good sometimes and bad some other time. It was Satan who desired to afflict Job because he had a foothold of spiritual pride in the heart of Job, but God used it for the lifting up Job to greater heights spiritually with Him by allowing the affliction in His sovereignty. Job's faith was tested by God and was proved to all the heavenly hosts that he was not following God just because he was blessed by God in all areas of his life. He followed God because of his love towards him. In this God Himself testified that in all this Job did not sin, what an awesome Testimony! In these days of false spirituality, we should learn what it means to be truly spiritual. Praise the Lord! To be really spiritual is to stay in faith and say, "God is good even though I do not feel an iota of goodness in my circumstances all around me." To say something like the above in the midst of all our trials and storms glorifies God greatly and reinstates the unchanging goodness of the Character of God and His good intentions towards us all individually in this planet earth. In the midst of the barrages of Satanic lies that deceives men all around us in the world which only believes God as long as all things goes good, God is looking for someone who is ready to stand in faith in the midst of all impossibilities of unbelief like Job and declare the unchanging goodness of our God and Saviour.
We can easily find out people's spirituality in the midst of the unsolvable problems they face. A spiritually mature person will not grumble against God or the situation when they face problematic storms in their life. Spiritually poor people like the Israelites, saw the miracles God did for them and forgot it as fast as possible because of their carnal living without faith. When again some impossibilities came to them immediately they started to grumble against God and did not believe His goodness in the midst of storms they faced (Psa 106:12-15). God's blessing will not be experieced in one's soul when such a spiritually shallow life of false spirituality is promoted and lived by the carnal Christians who think that they are spiritual. The bottomline is, "DECLARE THE UNCHANGING GOODNESS OF GOD IN THE MIDST OF IMPOSSIBILITIES OF LIFE."
Good Plans of God and The Need For Maintaining Right Attitudes
God has good plans for each one of us. God has promised in His word to each one of us who believe in Him and love Him unconditionally, saying, "9 ...“ Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” 10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God." (1 Cor 2:9-10). Here in the above verses we find the true secret to develop all true spirituality. When we start to love God irrespective of the circumstances we go through, the Spirit of God starts to reveal all the secret things of amazing miraculous plans and purpose that God has planned for our lives. When we tell some carnal people that God has a great plan for their lives, they will say with a big shout, 'Yes I do believe what you are saying. Amen!' But when God tunes up their spiritual themostat to make some small changes in their comfort zone, immediately they will start to grumble, murmur and begin to question God about His goodness. Those who question God whenever they go through a test of faith will stay in the same place without growth at all. Why? God starts the spiritual lessons where a person fails to progress and then He takes them higher spiritually. God will never bypass a spiritual lesson just because we continiously fail to learn it. God waits patiently until we choose to pass the spiritual test and walk along with Him forward.
We can never go higher spiritually than our attitudes we exhibit during the hour of the storm. God is there in the heavenlies to test us as our spiritual mentor, we are here on earth as his student to trust Him in the midst of all the so called seeming impossibilities of life. I have seen believers who have been in the Church serving the Lord in some capacity, who have failed to grow spiritually because of resisting the lesson that God was trying to teach them. I have not seen them blessed and they pass this attitude to their children, who also become affected with such spiritual stubbornness resisting God and godly authority in their lives too. May we ask God to help us maintain our thankful and praising attitude during our stoms of life so that we might grow spiritually more and more mature.
Godly Association and The Unfolding of God's Plan
Some times we think what seem to be good are God's plan for our lives. It is a spiritual deception to think that all that seem good are from God. Some times people learn spiritual lessons from God and his servants only until they become financially blessed. Once a lot of money comes in to their lives they start to think that it is based on their own righteous lifestyle that God has started to bless them, forgetting the source from which they were blessed. When you are associated with a man who walks with God and have the promise of God behind him, you are positioned to be blessed abundantly in your life. This happened to Lot who was the cousin of Patriarch Abraham. When God told Abraham to leave His family and father's family to go the land that God has promised to show in the future, Lot his wife's brother accompanied him in faith (Gen 12:1-5). As a result of believing the promise given to Abraham, Lot prospered greatly (Gen 13:5). Once extreme riches came to Lot by godly association with Abraham, he forgot the godly vessel through which he became prosperous and thus became proud enough to lose his spiritual balance (Gen 13:7). The strife that came between the herdsmen of Lot's livestock and Abram's livestock was because of Lot losing his spiritual balace through pride of false spirituality. He could have easily told the herds men of his to value the men of Abraham's livestock more than themselves, because it is through their Master's obedience to God that they are altogether blessed by God. But the attitude of Lot became so wrong and unteachable that the Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land (Gen 13:7).
Abraham was such a good man that he told Lot who was much younger than him, "8 ..., “Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.”" (Gen 13:8-9). Actually Lot was a young fellow and just a cousin, yet Abraham respected him in such a way that he said, "we are brethren." What a humility! God will bring his good plan to fruition step by step only to people who are humble and are spiritually stable enough to think and value others highly than themselves, even though they might be in reality or not (Php 2:3). Abraham at this point realised his mistake that he cannot take all of his relatives and family against the will of God and expect them to be blessed along with him. So knowing the shallow spirituality of Lot, Abraham wisely gave him a choice to depart. He knew that keeping Lot with him just because of blood relationship will make their enemies to rejoice and take over their land by seeing the strife and quarrel that comes between their herdsmen, because of Lot's bad attitude. Greedy man as Lot was, chose the best land of the plain of Jordan which was well watered everywhere and pitched his tent towards the properous city life and comfort (Gen 13:10-11). If Lot was really a teachable spiritual man, he would told Abraham that it was because of staying with him that he became prosperous and so would not depart from him. From this we should understand that good is the enemy of the best plans that God has for our lives. Many so called things that might seem to be good might be a test of God to see what we will choose, Money or God, selfish-ambition or fullfilling the will of God. When we choose God and His will, rather than what might seem to be good to our eyes and feelings, God will honor our choice to fullfill all His good plans for our lives. By rejecting the man of God Abraham who was the vessel of blessing to Lot, Lot rejected the will of God for his life by his own spiritual pride. May we never neglect the man of God whom God has given to us for spiritual guidance by our own foolish spiritual pride and lose the blessings of heaven.
Don't Forget Who Blessed You
It is easy for God to bless His people, but it takes time for Him to train them and make them spiritually stable, so that they can enjoy the wealth which He gives and use it completely for His purpose to be done on earth with thankfullness in their lives. God Himself said the same thing and warned Israelites not to let the prideful attitude of religiosity to come in to their heart once they become rich, and as a result of it abort God's plan that He has for their lives.
When we forget God who is our blessor, then there is always a danger of getting lost in our own prideful fleshly plans which God hates and resists. Here is what God says to us as much as he said to Israelites, "10 When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you. 11 “Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, 12 lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; 13 and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; 14 when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; 15 who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock; 16 who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end— 17 then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’ 18 “And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. 19 Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the LORD your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. 20 As the nations which the LORD destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the LORD your God." (Deut 8:10-20).
When we are filled with prosperity from God, there is a danger of forgetting God who has blessed us. There is a big danger of forgetting the servants of God whom God uses to bless us. This is the reason God takes us through spiritual storms, wilderness and trials to test us and keep our heart attitude humble before God and men. When we are filled with the good things of life and prosperity, it is given so that we might be thankful and live in the attitude of gratitude to bless the Lord in each and every living moment of our lives. When material prosperity comes to us, say we build a nice home as the Lord blesses our work or buisness, we should be careful not to forget our Lord by starting to walk in our own way and complacently stop seeking to find the will of God for every situation we face (Matt 6:33).
When riches increases in property and gold, rich food and in cars, good jobs and in social influence, do not set your heart on it (Psa 62:10). When you do, your heart will be lifted up and you will forget the Lord who has unconditionally forgiven your sin and have taken you from the house of bondage of the slavery of Satan's darkness (Acts 26:18). When you have walked in the spiritual wilderness where demonic spirits of snakes and scorpions were present, the Lord gave you His very own power over it and have protected you through out your journey (Luke 10:19-20). So it is God who has given you the power to prosper spiritually, soulishly, physically, financially and socially. It is God who makes you wealthy because He has desired it for you (Psa 35:27). When he has prosperd you in His time, it is without adding any sorrows of the world to it that he has prospered you (Pro 10:22). So stay stable in your spiritual life by being humble and loyal before the Lord as always when you are rich and sufficient.
God does not want you to live like a hermit and live a ascetic lifestyle, but he wants you not to set your heart on any riches when it increases. He wants you to wholeheartedly use the riches to store riches in heaven by using it for helping poor people, extending His kingdom work, by supporting para-Church ministries on the internet and for Churches to be planted around the world (Matt 6:19-21, 33; 19:21). We are clearly instructed in the Bible by the great Apostle Paul to set our minds on things above and no on things on earth (Col 3:1-2). In other words, the purpose for which Christ laid hold of us, for the same purpose we should lay hold on to Him tightly so that we could fullfill His plans for our lives through His strength and power working through us (Php 3:12; 2:13). We cannot serve an idol and also our true living God. In our New Testament times, the word idol represents money mainly and it is clearly expressed that "coveteousness...is idolatry" (Col 3:5). We cannot serve and worship both money and God at the same time (Luke 16:13). We ought to be careful in this regard and live only for the purpose of God to be fullfilled in our lives, so that the Lord will continue to proper us and will bring all the good plans of His to fruition in our lives. THE BOTTOM LINE IS, DON'T FORGET WHO BLESSED YOU! Hurray to our good Lord who works out His good plans continiously!!
Walk in Nothing But The Spirit of Faith
Even though God saved all the Israelites from Egypt, many of them were destroyed in the wilderness testing time itself because of lack of faith and unbelief (Jude 1:5). Even though many believers are born again to be taken from the slavery of Satan's clutches, very few believers enter in to Caanan land of the restful heavenly spiritual life of abundance (Heb 4:1-3; Matt 11:28-30). Because spiritual leaders like Caleb and Joshua were having different spirit of Faith in them (Num 14:24, 30-31), God was pleased with them and took the little ones along with them, who were told by their parents that they will become victims in the wilderness (Num 14:31). From this we know that if we are grumpy enough to complain against the Lord and test Him again and again even after seeing the glorious salvation, forgiveness of sins, provision and protection of God after we are born again, we will die without any further spiritual progress in our lives.
This is the sad state of many believers in our times too. But if we choose to live by the different spirit of faith which says that we can reach the spiritual Canaan of God's perfect rest if the Lord delights is us and if we do not fear our spiritual enemies as we continue to walk with Him, and keep believing that God's plan for our life is good and prosperous only even as we do not see it in our times of storms and wilderness walk (Num 14:7-9), then all the good promises of God and his good plans that He has for our life will very soon come to pass. And like Joshua one day at the end of our earthly lives we too will declare with a victorious cry, “Behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth. And you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spoke concerning you [and me]. All have come to pass for you [and me]; not one word of them has failed." (Jos 23:14).
Knowing that God is working all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Rom 8:28), we should continue to walk in faith. We should expect the best even when all we see is giants standing before us. We should speak positively based on our faith and the Lord will be very pleased to see and hear us walk in this different spirit of faith (2 Cor 4:13). We have a great God who will lead us step by step in to our destiny as we continue to walk in the spirit of faith. The heavenly life of rest and refreshment will increase more and more in our lives as we keep on walking in faith. NEVER GIVE UP! NEVER GIVE UP, BECAUSE GOD HAS NOT GIVEN UP ON YOU AND HAS PROMISED TO NEVER LEAVE YOU NOR FORSAKE YOU AS YOU KEEP WALKING THE FAITH WALK OF VICTORY (Heb 13:5)! It is we who have the potential to fullfill God's good plan by walking in faith or breaking it by our own complaining and unbelief.
Pray with me Saints : Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for being always good. Help us to face storms of life with faith and speak faith like the man of God Job did in His life, yes it was for His spiritual good that you allowed such spiritual storm to hit His life, so that he could be blessed more than all. In the same way, all the storms we face, give us the courage to stand for you so that your name might be glorified through us. Help us to recognize humbly the godly association you have set for us and value the men and women of God whom you have given to feed our spirit spiritually. May I never forget you when you start to bless me and then help me use my blessing to extend your kingdom, thus collecting my treasures in heaven where the moth does not eat it or any thief can steal it (Matt 6:20). Help me to walk continiously in the spirit of faith and live positively, speaking forth your purpose in to existence. Thank you and praise you that you will bring all your purpose and plans that you have for me, my family and Church in to existence and fullfill it to fruition. Help me to fullfill the GOOD PLANS even to the end of my life. In JESUS MIGHTY NAME, Amen and Amen!
much BLESSINGS....
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