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.
God wants us to prosper, to soar, to reach the heights of our dreams and ambitions, if they are parallel with His will for our lives. For when our life bears fruit it gives glory to God. God wants our lives to be living testimonies of the power of the Spirit that works through His children, so naturally He wants the best for us! He didn't make us to be stagnant, he made us to be active agents of His kingdom, spreading love and light and hope to the world.
He also didn't intend for us to have downcast souls, wounded by the world. If we lift the eyes of our hearts to Him, seeking Him with all that is inside of us, He will lift our weary, wounded souls up into heights unimaginable.
Sometimes we all reach our plateaus in life where it seems like we've been stuck in the same place and hope for change and growth seems like a remote possibility because we've been resting in the same reality for so long. In fact, it's easy to get comfortable in such a place. We know what to expect and what is expected of us. It's also an intimidating thing sometimes, rising above our comfort zones and trying new things, growing in new ways. We have to overcome our internal inertia to do so. But God doesn't want us to fear those things, he wants us to embrace them!
The way to get out of the rut we find ourselves in sometimes? The way to overcome our fears and insecurities? As the verses in Jeremiah tell us...pray and seek God with all of our hearts!...The Holy Spirit is, I've found, the best catalyst of change and the best source of hope and nourishment a weary, tired, or stagnant soul needs in being revived. God gives us the strength and encouragement to move forward. And when we move forward, trusting in Him only and seeking Him with all our hearts we start to see great changes in our lives. I'm not talking about money falling from the sky (though that would be nice!)..but perhaps prosperity also refers to the strengthening and growth and fruitfulness of relationships. When it comes to financial prosperity, that does seem a natural byproduct of an active, fruitful life.
The key I've found to grow with God is to have a regular devotional life of prayer and reading Scripture and meditating. If we do these things mindfully, giving to them while we engage in them our full attention, then we get to know our God better so that our prayers our conformed more closely to His Will. In Scripture it says that if you ask then you will receive. I've heard that misinterpreted though in the sense that people read it as if God is magically transformed into some type of divine genie. You rub your Bible a certain way while praying and...poof! You get what you desire. That just isn't so though. The New Testament over and over again tells us that we are to conform ourselves not to this world but to Christ. When we move through the process of sanctification and the truths and reality of God blossom before us like flowers in a garden, providing beauty and light to our souls, we start to want the things God wants. And when we pray for those things, God is overjoyed in providing them to us!
It is my prayer that all who read this find joy and hope and nourishment in our great God today. It might be a good thing too if we all pray for God to reveal the areas of our lives that need change (I know I have some!) and for God's Will for us to be revealed so that we can experience the greatest amount of joy and peace and prosperity God offers those who are seekers and humble and have open hearts hungrily thirsting for His Spirit. May we manifest His will in our lives so that our God may be glorified for all of man to witness, to draw those who haven't experienced Him closer by witnessing His power working through our lives, bearing much fruit.
~Blessings in Christ
This was a great read, Jessica! Motivating and true.
ReplyDeleteI really like your first sentence - God wants us to prosper, to soar, to reach the heights of our dreams and ambitions, if they are parallel with His will for our lives. That is the key, our dreams are to line up with His. The closer we get to Jesus, the more our desires line up with His. Thanks for posting this!
ReplyDeleteThank you Justin and Lisa :)~ abundant blessings
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