No tags yet.
Have you ever heard anyone say they don't agree with the "prosperity message?" Some of those who have a certain idea of what others mean by prosperity may call it the "Name it and claim it" teaching or the "Blab it and grab" message. The prosperity message is welcomed by some and shunned and criticized by others. There are definitely extremes we should avoid, but let's not throw the baby out with the bath water.
If you only want to prosper for the purpose of living in a larger house, driving a newer car, or having an affluent lifestyle to keep up with the Joneses, I believe that is wrong. However, God spoke to Abraham and told him he was going to bless him so he could be a blessing. Psalm 35:27 in the New American Standard Bible says, "The Lord be magnified, who delights in the prosperity of His servant." God delights and takes pleasure in the prosperity of His children.
Biblical prosperity however is so much more than finances and material possessions.The Hebrew word translated prosperity in Psalm 35:27 is shalom. Shalom means, "Health, security, tranquility, success comfort, and peace. It includes the ideas of wholeness, security, and safety. It is a satisfied condition, an unconcerned state of peacefulness. Shalom is completeness, harmony, and fulfillment."
Wow! I want that! Don't you? Why would anyone not want to prosper like this? Jesus said in John 10:10, "I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly." (NASB) The Amplified Bible says, "I came that they have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).The word life in this verse is zoe - which is defined as "life in the absolute sense, life as God has it, that which the Father has in Himself, and which He gave to the Incarnate Son to have in Himself and which the Son manifested in the word."
Even though zoe life is not exactly the same as prosperity, the ideas are very closely related. God wants us to have life and have it more abundantly. He wants us to be whole, secure, safe, and peaceful.
All through the Bible we see these principles and I, for one, want to experience them in their fulness!