Posted on 07/24/2015 5:29:27 AM PDT by Gamecock
“In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.” - Ecclesiastes 7:14
It is no sin to be joyful when we prosper. Though we should be aware of the temptations that are unique to prosperity, we should not therefore think that prosperity is something to be avoided or that we have necessarily done something wrong when we enjoy the good things of life. Jesus, after all, even though He was not a wealthy man and warned that we “cannot serve God and money” (Matt. 6:24), found time to rejoice at the wedding in Cana. He even blessed the guests with a type of prosperity when He turned water into the best wine available (John 2:1–12).
God praises those who give sacrificially to His kingdom (Luke 21:1–4), but He is also clear that a sacrificial spirit is not inherently contrary to the enjoyment of prosperity. Abraham prospered greatly, but he also allowed Lot to possess the choicest portion of the Promised Land (Gen. 13). In the Mosaic law, our Creator promises great prosperity to His obedient people (Deut. 28:1–14). We may even speak of God as having a desire for our prosperity, though we must understand that this will not be fulfilled completely until the new heaven and earth.
Ecclesiastes 7:14 confirms this point, commanding us to be joyful in the day of prosperity. Wise people rejoice when good things have happened to them and when God has tangibly blessed their efforts. There is a place before the face of God to take joy in our Lord’s bounty and to enjoy what He has given us.
Being the realistic student of life in this fallen world that he is, however, the Preacher who wrote the book of Ecclesiastes is under no illusions that God’s people will experience material prosperity at every turn. Actually, there will be days of adversity. Moreover, these days of adversity are no less made or ordained by the Lord than days of prosperity (Eccl. 7:14). Essentially, the Preacher wants us to understand that because God ordains days of both blessing and hardship, there is a place for both in our fallen creation. We should not think that days of trouble are any less from the hand of God than are days of ease and abundance. This will help prevent us from thinking that the Lord is acting less kindly toward us on our difficult days than He is on our easy ones. All that God does is good, and if He has ordained days of trouble for us, we know that He has done so for a good purpose (Rom. 8:28).
Life often fluctuates between good days and bad days, but both are from God. Only He understands how all this works out. We should therefore trust in Him and His goodness.
Coram Deo
As we grow in faith, we should find ourselves increasingly aware that our hard days are from the Lord no less than our good ones, and we should be thanking Him for bringing trials into our lives through which He works to conform us to the image of His Son. Are you enjoying prosperity at the moment? Rejoice, then, in what the Lord has given you. Are you facing hardship? Know that God is working for your good, and He will use your difficulty to advance His kingdom.
Passages for Further Study
Job 2:1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord. 2 And the Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 3 And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.” 4 Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. 5 But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” 6 And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.”
7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he took ta piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes.
9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” 10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” 10 In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
Romans 12:15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
Essentially, the Preacher wants us to understand that because God ordains days of both blessing and hardship, there is a place for both in our fallen creation. We should not think that days of trouble are any less from the hand of God than are days of ease and abundance. This will help prevent us from thinking that the Lord is acting less kindly toward us on our difficult days than He is on our easy ones.
Morning Protestant Devotional Ping! (Except Mark16, for whom it is an evening devotional.)
Want on or off? Let me know! FAITH!
Thanks Game, and good morning!
Hoss
Morning Hoss! Glad you could mosey on by.
You know, we have this tendency to say when things are going good, that we are blessed, or that the other person is blessed, and indeed we are.
The problem with that thinking is that it can easily lead to the opposite thinking that when things are not going well, some how we are NOT blessed. What do you say to someone then?
Well, we are blessed anyway. Simply because God tells us that we are blessed, in good times and bad. Our external circumstances are not the barometer of how blessed we are.
caww, on another thread, you asked me for clarification on the comment I made about focusing on what I know to be true.
This is a GREAT example. What God told me was to focus on what I know to be true. What I know to be true, is this: that in Christ, in the Beloved, I AM blessed, even when things are going in a way that would not lead me to know that.
Ephesians 1:3-10 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
How much more blessed can we be than to have Christ and His fullness?
Good morning and thank you!
God Bless
Being on the wrong end of this particular equation at the moment, this is an excellent morning devotional as a reminder of God's power. Thank you for the post.
Bless your day.
I don't think it is possible to be more blessed, than to have Christ and His fulness. If we could fully visualize Hell, we would realize just how blessed we really are, KNOWING beyond any shadow of a doubt, that we will spend eternity with the Lord. It truly is sad, that the majority of the world's population will be in Hell. It doesn't have to be that way. Good morning all.
How’s this:
As a Christian, this life is the absolute worst we will have it for the remainder of eternity. It is all uphill from here.
For those who die as atheists this life is the absolute best it will be, for all eternity.
Life often fluctuates between good days and bad days, but both are from God. Only He understands how all this works out. We should therefore trust in Him and His goodness.Coram Deo
As we grow in faith, we should find ourselves increasingly aware that our hard days are from the Lord no less than our good ones,
Yes. God is good.
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