Recently at church, I heard a pastor preach on how the book of Proverbs offers wisdom for prosperous living. Typically, when there is discussion of prosperous living it’s associated with the Prosperity Gospel, a belief among some Christians that financial blessings and physical well-being are always the will of God and that faith, positive speech and contributions to religious causes will increase one’s material wealth. However, this was not the case.
The pastor’s message was how the wise sayings in Proverbs, when applied, can enrich our relationships, faith, finances and physical and spiritual health. The Scripture for his sermon was from Proverbs chapter three:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing and your vats will brim over with new wine.”
From this passage, the key message is to trust, honor and fear the Lord. In doing so, we are able to navigate the challenges and opportunities of life thus drawing us closer to God. When referring to the passage, trust means not to lean on our understanding, but to seek the guidance and wisdom of God. Our hearts and mind can fail or deceive us, but He never will. This is not to say that we shouldn’t think things through and come to conclusions, but when council is needed, we should turn to God through Scripture and prayer.
For believers, having a fear of God doesn’t mean to be afraid of Him but to have a healthy understanding of God in all that we do, to not neglect His presence and to always have reverence for Him.
Lastly everything we have is a blessing from God, so we must honor Him with our wealth and resources. When we trust, honor and fear God, we can live prosperously even if our prayers are unanswered, our health is not perfect and we continue to face financial hardships. What does living prosperously means to you? Please share with us.
Lord, teach us to trust, honor and fear You all the days of our lives.
