God's formula to success, good success - Day 10: Thirty Day Meditations to Abundant Life!
"Father, why am I failing!" I cried out.
All I saw was lack. All I felt was failure, as if I was sinking in a whirlpool down, down, down into the bosom of the curse. Where I was full of peace, there was now rage. Where there was joy, sadness and where there was a sense of triumph only a dismal outlook of defeat.
But the curse isn't my inheritance in Christ... so I cried out further, angrily, even resentful of my Father, "But You promised me... you promised me, prosperity!" I was speaking about the general, wholesome, holistic prosperity of Christ... the Abundant Life He promised us to live here on earth, before our grand heavenly arrival, i.e. a life of victory and nothing short of that.
"I did promise you that if... IF, you meditated on My Word."
I was cut to the heart.
You see, for days, Jesus' words had been haunting me... "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Mat 16:26).
So here I was, my devotional life was down in the drains, nonexistent. I had become callous and insensitive to my Lord and I wondered where was the me I once knew, fervent for His works, happy with what I had, always on the lookout to bless other and I hardly recognized myself.
Now God doesn't reward us with His gifts of grace because we do this or that... if they are by grace, they are not really conditional, they are a gift and it really has nothing to do with performance. But why did He say IF?
"But you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." (Josh 1:8)
God made the universe with that principle flowing through every atom and particle of matter. If you plant a peach seed, you get a peach tree and peaches, not plums or apples nor bananas. So it's not that good success is awarded you because you simply are communing with God or not, it's simply the outworking fruit of spending time with Him, deeply meditating on His words, letting them bear fruit in your life.
But here's another thing. You want more life. And yet sometimes we seek more life apart from Him. It's so counter-intuitive. The world says if you want success you might want to work harder, get a university degree or perhaps be mean and deceiving. But God's way is simply, meditate on My Word!
The Word became flesh... I once heard a man pose a question; Is the Word, the Creator or a creation? If it's a creation then certainly God did not create the world using the Word. The Word is Jesus, the Creator Himself. How much power then is there in contemplating the Word, the very Force of Creation!?
And so here we often find ourselves. We lack and so we strive. We need or want this so we start to do this and that. It's good to take action but we do it apart from Him, without any real consciousnesses of His love and presence. When we act in this manner and when our actions originate because of something we don't have, I find that something is always there to stop you.
"For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away." (Mat 25:29)
So today, remember God's blessings and instead of drawing up your plans and letting your 'poverty' or 'hunger' guide you, let the Lord be your light, let His word refresh you and see yourself as His child, wonderfully blessed, ever favored, and forever loved! That's the path of Life!
See the previous day's devotional: 5 powerful ways thankfulness can change your life - Day 9:Thirty Day Meditations to Abundant Life!
David Roiel
Subscribe today to get these posts by email and look for my frequent eBook giveaways!
Just enter your email address below and click the subscribe button. Blessings be upon you!
Follow @DavidRoiel
All I saw was lack. All I felt was failure, as if I was sinking in a whirlpool down, down, down into the bosom of the curse. Where I was full of peace, there was now rage. Where there was joy, sadness and where there was a sense of triumph only a dismal outlook of defeat.
But the curse isn't my inheritance in Christ... so I cried out further, angrily, even resentful of my Father, "But You promised me... you promised me, prosperity!" I was speaking about the general, wholesome, holistic prosperity of Christ... the Abundant Life He promised us to live here on earth, before our grand heavenly arrival, i.e. a life of victory and nothing short of that.
"I did promise you that if... IF, you meditated on My Word."
 |
| Shutterstock - Robert S (modified by D.R.) |
You see, for days, Jesus' words had been haunting me... "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Mat 16:26).
Now God doesn't reward us with His gifts of grace because we do this or that... if they are by grace, they are not really conditional, they are a gift and it really has nothing to do with performance. But why did He say IF?
"But you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." (Josh 1:8)
God made the universe with that principle flowing through every atom and particle of matter. If you plant a peach seed, you get a peach tree and peaches, not plums or apples nor bananas. So it's not that good success is awarded you because you simply are communing with God or not, it's simply the outworking fruit of spending time with Him, deeply meditating on His words, letting them bear fruit in your life.
But here's another thing. You want more life. And yet sometimes we seek more life apart from Him. It's so counter-intuitive. The world says if you want success you might want to work harder, get a university degree or perhaps be mean and deceiving. But God's way is simply, meditate on My Word!
The Word became flesh... I once heard a man pose a question; Is the Word, the Creator or a creation? If it's a creation then certainly God did not create the world using the Word. The Word is Jesus, the Creator Himself. How much power then is there in contemplating the Word, the very Force of Creation!?
And so here we often find ourselves. We lack and so we strive. We need or want this so we start to do this and that. It's good to take action but we do it apart from Him, without any real consciousnesses of His love and presence. When we act in this manner and when our actions originate because of something we don't have, I find that something is always there to stop you.
"For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away." (Mat 25:29)
So today, remember God's blessings and instead of drawing up your plans and letting your 'poverty' or 'hunger' guide you, let the Lord be your light, let His word refresh you and see yourself as His child, wonderfully blessed, ever favored, and forever loved! That's the path of Life!
See the previous day's devotional: 5 powerful ways thankfulness can change your life - Day 9:Thirty Day Meditations to Abundant Life!
David Roiel
The Green Leaf Blog-Discover your inheritance!
Subscribe today to get these posts by email and look for my frequent eBook giveaways!
Just enter your email address below and click the subscribe button. Blessings be upon you!
Follow @DavidRoiel
Comments
Post a Comment