You are king’s kids. It doesn’t matter what everyone else is doing. Prosperity requires a higher standards.
As a parent, this was my consistent message to my children. I had learned the importance setting clear expectations. If godliness was the goal, I was confident that they would rise to the bar I set. I wanted to require and model doing things God’s way.
Prosperity requires a higher standards.
Dependence Is Required
Jesus’s submission to the Father is the very essence of doing things God’s way. His example teaches us that a right attitude before for the Father is a requirement of godliness. When our hearts are humble, we are completely open to the Holy Spirit and recognize our dependence on God. It is a sacrifice of our pride. It is not about us; but about him. Like malleable clay in the hands of a skilled potter, the “humble in spirit” can be molded and shaped by the master.
Those who are “humble in spirit” are willing to do anything and everything that God asks of them, without resistance or resentment. Is this us? Have we stopped doing things our way and learned to do things God’s way? When we do so, the power of the Holy Spirit fills us with peace and the joy of living a life pleasing to God.
In a recent post, I wrote about the first Beatitude, “Blessed are the humble in spirit” (see Entitled). This promise is about our attitude. “For theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” is about the kingdom that the Lord, Messiah, will establish at his second coming. That is our hope, but we also understand that the kingdom is among us. Meaning, God’s blessings are for us now as well. This truth is evident in the third Beatitude, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5).
Abundant Prosperity
This reminds me of another favorite promise from the Word of God, “The meek shall possess the land.”
I want prosperity and I want that for my children. I know that my deference to a God that is bigger than I am is the key to living a life with peace and joy. We all need to know that we are king’s kids.
“But the meek shall possess the land, and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.”
Psalm 37:11