I just had another epiphany this week.
May not be a new thought to you, but here it is:
What do you want for your children? What kind of a life do you hope they’ll enjoy? How do you envision their future… do you see them with a beautiful family of their own? Do you see them doing well in their chosen occupation? At least, is that what you would hope for them?
Above all, wouldn’t you hope that they find joy in a life of wonderful accomplishments? That they would feel the thrill of overcoming challenges and realizing the potential you know they have?
How would you feel, in your old age, to have your child visit you, announcing, “I’ve done you proud, Dad. I’m just what you hoped I would be: a beggar on the street.”
It would be an absurdity.
So, then suppose you talk with him for a while and eventually realize that all these years he thought you’d be the most pleased with him if he remained poor. He thought you’d look upon him with disapproval if he moved out of the slums. Perhaps he thought you’d be angry if he ended up with more money than his bills required.
Of course you wouldn’t want him to remain a beggar. Nor would you be angry with him if he was successful at building a beautiful life for his wife and children. As a father, isn’t that what you’d hope for him? Wouldn’t you hope that he was successful at providing for his family, with more than enough to also bring relief to others in need? Wouldn’t YOU hope your children would grow up to enjoy true prosperity?
If God the Father is the kind of father I imagine Him to be, then I suspect He would feel the same way about us, His children. I don’t think we please Him with our poverty. That’s not to say we disappoint Him with it either. I believe we invoke His compassion, and then He invites us to receive more of the blessings He has available.
Our job is to align our will to His and then learn how to receive. Learning how to receive does not always come naturally. If we don’t have the life we want, there may be some lessons for us to learn in how to receive that could make all the difference.
It’s common to fear prosperity, because after all, who wants to disappoint God, or invoke His wrath? Not I. If the reason you need and want prosperity is to accomplish more of what you feel God wants you to do, then wouldn’t it stand to reason that the desire is good, right, and worthy?
Then, how do you avoid the traps warned about in the Bible (for example), regarding wealth? How do you receive what you need without asking too much? What’s too much, anyway? If you own a computer, do you realize you are already more wealthy than the majority of the people on this planet?? If you are, does that mean you should hang your head in shame? Just something to think about.
For more on this topic and for some amazingly powerful answers, read Hidden Treasures: Heaven’s Astonishing Help with Your Money Matters.
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One Response
Leslie,
I have five children myself, well… actually only 4, I keep forgetting that my oldest son passed away a little over a year ago. I haven’t always had the opportunity to be there for My children but I have always wished the best for their happiness and peace of mind. I have always encouraged them to excel at whatever gave them inner peace, and I have always told them that nothing is preventing them from realizing their wildest dreams. But if one of them became a bum on the street and was happy. What more could I ask for? I should think it would take a lot of courage and commitment to be a bum. This is certainly not my wish for my children or grandchildren, but their lives are not mine to live either. The fact of the matter is that no matter what we discover that personally gives us peace of mind, the most we will ever be able to do is provide others with alternatives that will enhance their own personal way of life, even if it only makes them better bums. I don’t believe that people are,poor, unhappy and insecure because they want to be. It’s because they believe there is no other way. Leslie I can plainly see that you are clearly showing another way and it’s unique and outstanding, whenever I see an e-mail from you I get excited, because you substantiate everything I believe in.
Randy