Our Lord has given us every good blessing beyond all we could ever imagine or ask. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. There is no limit to the wealth our Jesus holds. I mean, even the streets are paved with gold where we are headed.
But I have come to learn, we do not have to wait to inherit some of those magnificent luxuries until glory. When we have a deep, strong faith- one that is unwavering and unshakable, our God honors that with much wealth.
Christ knows how to give good gifts. He will provide your every need and give you some added bonus items just for fun. He is extravagant and generous toward those who love Him. Don’t tell me He won’t do it! My Jesus is in the business of giving me treasures, increasing my bank account and allows me to travel and explore His wonderful creation.
We have struggled with our finances in the past, but we prayed and sought and the Lord just keeps bringing the overflow! For example, we had our eye on a new car, but we were not sure how we would get the funds to purchase the upgrade. So we started asking Him for the new wheels. We (especially me) were persistent, because I know He can do all things and boy did He provide. We have to keep knocking and pounding that door of Heaven until the Lord is moved by our faith. The more we believe, the more we receive.
You may now erase from your memory everything that was written above. It is all a pack of lies and was only used to draw your curiosity. However, there are some who still preach this garbage today, leading away massive amounts of vulnerable people with this snake oil, mumbo jumbo. You may have experienced such dishonest teaching in your own life. If you have, I am truly sorry.
What is not a falsehood is the fact our God does provide for our every need. NEEDS not wants.
Food
Shelter
Clothing
It may not be fancy, but it will be adequate. No mansion, but you have a roof over your heads. Yeah- you may bargain hunt and get some good, second hand clothes from the Goodwill and shop the deals at the local Aldi to get some cheap groceries. You may not have a whole lot extra at the end of the month, but bills are paid.
Praise God for provision!
And sometimes- yes- He throws in an extra blessing of something we want, just because He’s a good Father who loves His children. But this is the exception, not the rule. We should never come to Christ expecting to receive anything from His hand. He died on the cross, taking every ounce of wrath from the Father upon Himself, so we could be set free from the flames of hell’s damnation. If He gives us nothing else in this lifetime, I feel confident in saying, “That is enough!”
Praise You Jesus for Your mighty love toward us, that while we were still sinners, You died for us!
But, believe it or not, if you read scripture, you will notice there are other benefits beyond eternal life we are given when we place our full faith and trust in Christ, and make Him the Lord over all. What an amazing God we serve!
Let us begin with reading, what I am sure will be a familiar passage to most.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23)
My goodness what a blessed list of attributes we have within our fingertips! We have the Holy Spirit living within us, which is not only a beautiful gift and future promise of our inheritance to come (Ephesians 1:13-14), but also bears much fruit when allowed to rule and reign over all aspects of our lives.
I don’t know about you, but I want to be known as a person who possesses all of these qualities. This type of person is living life in a way that leaves legacy for their children and their children’s children, by taking back ground the enemy stole for the Kingdom. That is WAY more valuable than some stupid, old riches that will all one day pass away. (Matthew 6:19-21)
I would like to highlight just a few in the list that are my personal favorites, with the first being love.
“We love because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)
Oh! No truer words have ever been spoken! Before I became a Christ follower, I had no idea how to love others the way I should, because I didn’t know how to love myself first. It was Jesus who taught me how to serve and give sacrificially to those around me. It was my Savior who showed me what it means to place others needs above my own and seek out ways to love them and lift them up. And then, the more I understood who my Lord was, the more I began to understand who I was in Christ Jesus and finally, I was able to love myself despite all my flaws and mistakes. And I am still learning!
Pre-Christ, I was a horribly, wicked selfish woman- only worried about what I could get or gain from others. I have prayed hard over the years for Him to take that selfish nature away from me and crucify it daily. How can you help others if you are constantly looking at yourself? Now I look at others and sometimes my heart will just overflow with love for people- what a blessed benefit!
My desire is to ever keep my eyes focused on the world around me, and away from the face in the mirror. I pray this same desire overtakes you. Serving and loving others gives us such great joy. (ding, ding! One blessing leads to another) This is why I believe they are listed in that order; love and then joy.
Joy is something this world cannot take from you, because it is not conditional on your outward circumstances. It is steady and sure, even when the waves threaten to take you under. Sometimes the feeling is less noticeable than others, because life is hard, but there is a constant under current that is always flowing- even on the difficult days. A feeling that keeps you from falling into total despair.
Praise Jesus for His goodness!
Now we come to my favorite in the list and the benefit of living in Christ I cherish the most above them all. PEACE.
Oh dear friends! My life prior to Jesus was like riding on the hot mess express as a passenger and conductor. Sin brings such chaos. There is constant upheaval and noise. You don’t know which way you will be traveling from one day to the next, and you barely have time to catch your breath in-between stops.
Emotions constantly churning in your stomach. Mind racing endlessly with regrets and shame. But all the while you must put on that mask and laugh and hide it all so no one knows the real disaster you are inside. It is exhausting. I was never more glad to get off that ride in all my life!
The calm and quiet are priceless to me now. Listen to what Isaiah says is the benefit we gain, when we strive to walk in righteousness with the Lord.
“And the effect of righteousness will be peace [internal and external] and the result of righteousness will be quietness and confident trust forever. My people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, in safe dwellings, and in quiet resting-places.” (Isaiah 32:17-18)
Sign me up for this all day long! Once you have experienced calm waters, still meadows and a quiet mind; I can promise you there is no amount of riches you would accept in exchange for your peace.
Do you see how just the first three fruits/benefits on the list alone is more valuable than silver or gold? But it just keeps getting better.
Patience in a microwave, give it to me now culture.
Kindness when everyone seems to be screaming at each other.
Goodness on the days when evil seems to be winning.
Faithfulness pushes through and sticks with it, even when it’s hard.
Gentleness quenches the fires of rage.
Self-control to keep your emotions, tongue and actions in check, in a world that seems to be losing its mind.
If you have bought into the lie the christian life is to make you healthy and wealthy, I pray this is your wake up call and you come out from your slumber. If you are currently teaching this ideology, I humbly ask you to go before the Lord, repent and ask Him to reveal truth to your heart. Yes, there are magnificent benefits in rooting yourself in Christ Jesus, but none of them have to do with riches or monetary blessings.
Which are the greater gifts anyway?
Fruit of the Spirit that will never rot away, or cash, Cadillacs and Condos that can easily be spent, crashed or burnt to the ground.
I’ll let you decide, but I know what I choose for my life.