Overcoming Discouragements

Genesis 13:7...The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time. 8 So Abram said to Lot, "Let's not have any quarreling between you and me...for we are close relatives. 9....Let's part company. If you go to the left, I'll go to the right; if you go to the right, I'll go to the left." You and I are in pursuit of something. Call it prosperity, success, happiness, or security, we all want to have lives that are joyful and abundant. There is nothing wrong with the desire to have and even have much. God has placed in each of us, as men and women who were made in his image, a natural desire for “paradise”. We are not committing sin when we want an abundant life. In fact, God, our Father, is happy when we are well in every area of our lives. We are called by God, however, to be careful how we pursue prosperity, security, or happiness. This is because there are right ways as well as wrong ways to pursue them. If we pursue prosperity in right ways (as taught in the Word of God, the Bible), the Lord is pleased and we will succeed. But if we pursue abundance in wrong ways, we will displease the Lord and we will eventually fail, even though we may gain some financial wealth for a season. As followers of Jesus Christ, you and I are called by God to live with righteousness, peace, and joy (Romans 14:17). As we do, we bring praise to God and the greatest good to others and ourselves. So we must, by the energy of the Holy Spirit that is powerfully at work in each one of us, choose the high road of godliness in our decisions and dealings. We must say “No” to selfishness and any form of moral compromise. Our testimony as followers of Christ is a priority consideration in our decision-making. But as we will be reminded of in our study today, pursuing prosperity for the purposes and glory of God, and not just for our own selfish consumption, eventually brings the great rewards and abundance that God wants to give to his people in the first place. How are you pursuing prosperity, success, happiness, or security? Are you staying within the godly boundaries that bring true prosperity? Or are you pursuing abundance “by hook or by crook”? Could it be that you have taken for granted the great values of God’s people such as maintaining a godly testimony before people who don’t know God yet, and showing gratitude toward and honor for others, especially those who helped you succeed? Today, let the Holy Spirit lead you to a greater passion to pursue prosperity in right ways. The Lord’s rich blessings on your life, family, and ministry! Lathur Badoy