Abundant Life in the Word (2)
BIBLE READING: JOSHUA 1:8; PSALMS 1:3
Last week I left you with these questions to ponder on: Is your confidence in God? God told Joshua, he would prosper and succeed if he mediated on and obeyed His Laws. Could it be we are not prospering in some areas of our lives because we are using the methods of the world in that area?
As we continue our meditation on the Scriptures in Ezekiel 20:11,13,I want us to look at what God said to Joshua as recorded in Joshua 1:8.He said “This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success.” (AMPC). Prosperity in the Biblical sense has to do with both your spiritual and physical life. A lot of us think of prosperity as just financial but I believe it has to do with your journey here on earth. God said to Joshua, His way (journey in life) would be prosperous, he would be wise and have good success in all he set his mind to do if he studied, obeyed and kept his focus on the laws of God. I want you to notice, there were conditions given to Joshua for prosperity, wisdom and success;
1) Confession of the Word always
2) Meditating on the Word day and night
3) Focusing on the Word of God
4) Obeying the Word.
These were the conditions given to Joshua and these conditions are still the same today. To prosper in life’s journey, to have wisdom and succeed in all we do we must satisfy all these conditions. As I said last week, salvation is a free gift but there are conditions to living a prosperous and successful life here on earth.
To prosper as a Christian is to grow, increase and strive in every area of your life (spirit, soul and body). A lot of people think prosperity is all about acquiring wealth by any means possible (stealing, killing and cheating) but forget that wealth cannot buy you peace of mind and joy. For a Christian, our prosperity has its foundation in God’s Word. We seek God first by studying, meditating and obeying His Word and allow the Holy Spirit guide us in our decision making process. As I have always said, there is no short cut to living a victorious life here on earth, the foundation is first to accept the free gift of salvation and then study the Word of God to know what this new life entails. Jesus Christ said, He knows we care about so many things, what we will eat, drink, our future etc but He tells us in Matthew 6:33“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” When we start by seeking His kingdom (studying His Word and learning His way of doing things) then all the other things we are looking for will follow. He is the One Who will bless us with things that will last forever. Solomon (The wisest man that ever lived before Christ came) said, “The blessing of God-it makes (truly) rich, and He adds no sorrow with it (neither does toiling increase it).” (AMPC).What he is saying is, true prosperity comes with rest and contentment in every area of our lives and this is the kind of prosperity God gives His children. Any other kind of prosperity (through your own strength or evil compromises) will not bring rest and contentment with it. Every kind of prosperity or success you have outside God will always come with a price. Sometimes the price we pay could be our health, our marriage, our children, but with God there is no price to pay as the Holy Spirit teaches us how to get the balance right.
Going back to Joshua 1:8, God instructs us to confess and meditate on His Word day and night. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ (The Word) tells us He is the Bread of Life (John 6:51)and that we should eat this Bread always. So to have abundant life we must also have the Word. The Word of God and the Bread of Life are One and the Same, so you cannot separate the Word of God from abundant Life.
We are to have Jesus Christ on our minds day and night, we are to focus on Him and obey all His instructions so that we will prosper (spiritually and physically), be wise and succeed in our journey here on earth.
I will end with one of my favourite Scriptures in the Bible which summarises and confirms all I have been saying since last week. Jesus Christ said, “I am the sprouting Vine and you are My branches. As you live in union with Me as your Source, fruitfulness will stream from within you. But when you live separated from Me you are powerless.” John 15:5 TPT
Stay focused on Jesus Christ by the help of the Holy Spirit, stay connected to the Bread of Life and see prosperity, wisdom and success in all you do.
UNDER GRACE UNDER MERCY
ATINUKE OLASHORE