Why God’s Eternal Promises Are Better Than Prosperity & Success
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 112:1
How joyful are those who fear the Lord
and delight in obeying His commands.
I love sharing God’s eternal promises . . . the blessings and the joy I’ve experienced through loving and trusting the Lord. I’ve often said that if I reached the end of my life and learned that atheists or those who worshipped someone or something other than the Triune God of the Bible were right—I still would not have wanted to live my life any other way.
Although truthfully, I believe there is too much evidence to not believe the Bible.
And I’ve seen too many of God’s promises fulfilled in my life and the lives of others to place my trust in anyone or anything other than God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
With that being said, I’ve been struggling to know what to share with you as I read and reread Psalm 112.
You see, it continues with what a Prosperity Preacher would lift up as words of “gold.”
Their children will be successful everywhere;
Psalm 112:2-5
an entire generation of godly people will be blessed.
They themselves will be wealthy,
and their good deeds will last forever.
Light shines in the darkness for the godly.
They are generous, compassionate, and righteous.
Good comes to those who lend money generously
and conduct their business fairly.
Fear the Lord, obey His commands, give generously and you will be wealthy with successful children. Wouldn’t that be awesome? These verses could easily be used as inspiring motivators to get people to join our faith family. And some do!
But the truth is not all believer’s children are successful and not all godly people are wealthy.
So, are we to believe based on this Psalm? Is its message telling us that if a believer’s child fails or they themselves are not wealthy they’re not living according to God’s will? Are we to evaluate someone’s faith based on those external factors?
I don’t think so.
I think the Psalmist’s point lies in verses 7 and 8…
They do not fear bad news;
Psalm 112:7–8
they confidently trust the Lord to care for them.
They are confident and fearless
and can face their foes triumphantly.
You see, when we “fear the Lord” we don’t have to fear anyone or anything else.
Paul wrote the following to the church in Rome…
If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since He did not spare even His own Son but gave Him up for us all, won’t He also give us everything else?
Romans 8:31b–32
As I sit here writing, the song, Blessings by Laura Story is playing on my music channel.
And I’ve had to pause mid-keystroke to listen. You see, this is a God moment for me. I’m writing this several weeks before you are reading it and today has been a hard day. My heart has been heavy as I’ve watched Rev and our pup, Sadie, struggle with their health.
I know God is with us but I also know that life is not free of problems and pain even for those who SEEK, KNOW, TRUST, LOVE, and make it their heart’s desire to OBEY the Lord. He gives us what we need to prepare us for the future . . . a forever future made possible through His saving grace and the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus.
So, we can confidently trust the Lord to care for us. We can fearlessly face the foes in front of us because Jesus has already defeated them. We can praise the Lord and surrender our lives to Him in faith asking Him to help us live according to His will. Not to make us wealthy and give us perfect children but because He has given us everything we need to live each day with faith, hope, and love.
Let’s pray…
A Prayer to Fear the Lord and
Trust His Eternal Promises
Heavenly Father, I do thank and praise You. I trust Your eternal promises. I thank You for the countless blessings You give me each and every day the greatest of which is the blessing of Your Son and my Savior, Jesus.
The enemy continues to tempt us with offerings of wealth, success, and perfect families and I believe it gives You joy to see Your children enjoy those things. But when I read the accounts in Job and the lives of the Apostles and when I read about martyrs and those who have lived in poverty or been rejected by their children, I don’t believe those things are evidence of faith or lack of it. Please forgive us for taking verses like these out of context and allowing Satan to tempt us to use them to judge or manipulate one another.
Please help us focus on Your love . . . the way You love us and the way You want us to love each other. Help us love well and trust You to give us everything we need to live well according to Your will.
I thank and praise You for making it possible for me to know that sometimes Your blessings come through raindrops and sometimes Your healing comes through tears. I thank You for the sleepless nights that have reminded me that You are near. As I go through the trials of this life help me remember that Your mercies and gracious love are always at work in my life. I love you and pray in the name of my Lord and Savior, Jesus. Amen.
May we all take some extra time today to count our blessings . . . especially the blessings of God’s Eternal Promises. Because when we get to the end of our lives there is nothing that will matter more.
One more thing … I’m thankful to tell you that today we are doing well. Yes, Rev and Sadie continue to face health challenges but God is with us giving us His peace and helping us to live with joy.
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I pray that you, the Rev, and Sadie will know the love and appreciation that come from your many readers and that God continues to bless your family.
Thank you so very much, Holly! We truly appreciate your prayers and your kind words of encouragement made my day! May the Lord be with you and bless you abundantly.
Oh Deb, I am so thankful to hear you are doing well today. I pray God will continue to bless you and comfort you, Rev, and Sadie. With this post, I am reminded that we brought nothing into this world and we are not taking anything out of this world when it is our time to go.
Like you, I cannot imagine living my life any other way. Believing, trusting and looking to God, my beloved Father in heaven, is the only way I can survive. If not for the hope and the promises of God, that I completely and totally trust, I doubt I would even be alive today.
Matthew 6:19-20 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal.
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. 21) FOR WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS, THERE WILL BE YOUR HEART ALSO.
My TREASURE is my God, and my prayer is for guidance to do all that He requires of me as a child in HIS KINGDOM…GOD’s KINGDOM will put the monitory wealth of even the richest on earth, (all combined) to shame!
And I loved your post on Friday and I am sorry, I wasn’t able to comment. The fear of the Lord, is the only thought that should ever matter and remain uppermost in our hearts and spirits always.
Thank you for being here with us, Deb, feeding us and nourishing our souls with much needed “Daily Bread.” I pray for God’s peace and healing joy to be with you and your family through this challenging time. I pray for all my friends here and even the ones who read and do not comment, for challenges they may be dealing with too…I continue to pray for Emmie, and I pray you are ok Ana, I have missed your comments as of late. Blessings to my dear friend, Sue! I thank God for Deb and for all of you! Sending love and hugs to everyone!
Kathy,
I missed you over the weekend and on Friday. I was so glad to see your post. Your heart is so beautiful and so pure. How blessed I am that you call me friend. And I feel the same about Deb! I love you my sweet friend.
I hope that all is well with you. You know that I keep you in my prayers. When I don’t see that you have posted, I get concerned that something has happened.
Good morning, my dear and special friend! I so missed commenting back to you and Deb on Friday! It was just one of those days, such good intentions and end up with getting nothing done…but oh Sue, your kind words of encouragement are such a blessing, especially on those days, that spin us around like a whirl wind. I am ok, but Sept. is a sad month for me. Besides 9-11, both my mom and my mother-in-law passed away, though not in the same year. And fall makes me melancholy and a bit sad anyway. I don’t really know why, but it does. I am feeling better today, so I praise God for lifting my spirits! I hope you are feeling at peace today too. Reading your comments the other day, that you cry everyday and feel the need to isolate, just broke my heart. I so wanted to run to you and give you a comforting hug! Oh Sue, I can so relate though. My heart feels things so deeply and my tears are frequent too. I too, have to have time alone and need isolation. The noise and chaos of life withers me at times and I have to decompress with prayers and tears, otherwise I am no good to anyone. Sometimes, it’s like I absorb the pain of everything going on around me.
And I think you are that way too. Such a kind and loving heart and so much to give to all the world.
I can tell how faithful and devoted to are to our Father God, and how much you love, trust and seek Him, and try to live every minute of your life for Him and with Him! You are a bright light my beautiful friend and I am so thankful for you and the wisdom you share with me and all of us here. Please know that you are so loved, so cherished and such a special blessing to me! I thank my God, upon every remembrance of you! I pray every joy and blessing be yours today and every day! You are always in my heart, my thoughts, and my prayers!
Kathy,
Thank you for this beautiful and much needed note. You are right in saying that we are alot alike. I do have to have my time to be alone, and like you I seem to take on so much of the ills of this world and things happening around me. It is our “sensitivity” and it can be a blessing or at times a curse.
When you said that September is a bad month for you, I understand. Also, my Mom did not particularly like the Fall. She said it was a depressing time for her at times. My uncle (My mother’s oldest brother and her favorite brother )died in September and so did my grandfather. Within a year of each other. My grandfather and I were very close. When he was with us, that was the only time I felt really secure when I was growing up. My Mother’s birthday is just a few days from yours in November. Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you for that much needed encouragement I got from you. This has been a tough year for me so far, but God is with me and He has a divine plan. I count on that. You are a dear person and such a good friend.
Love hugs to you!
Thank you, sweet friend! Your prayers and words of encouragement bless me more than you know. He is our greatest treasure. Amen. Thank you for sharing those verses. We missed you on Friday. You are always a wonderful blessing to our conversations. Thank you for your prayers and for the way you encourage us all. Blessings and hugs!
This touched my heart in such a special and meaningful way. And, the song brought tears to my eyes. I love the part about raindrops and sleepless nights. It strikes a cord in my life, as well as I am sure it does with others. I always maintain that our trials and sleepless nights bring us into a closer and more meaningful relationship with God.
I have been thinking alot about Heaven and I want to learn more about it. It makes me think of my late older brother. I miss him so much. I loved that he had his focus in the right direction and I loved that it was childlike. He had that kind of faith. Never questioned whether or not he would go to Heaven. He had his plans for when he got there and they were so simple and so sweet. He loved Jesus and he knew that Jesus loved him. NO MATTER WHAT!
Your post reminds me that the things of this world are not the things we should be worried about or concerned with. I am talking about the betrayals, the disappointments, the hurts and the pain. God has so much more in store for us. How I agree with you on taking things out of context and really, all that you said.
You have such a way of teaching us and with your words. I love the last part of the prayer and those words in the song. I am so blessed by you and by this site, and for the wonderful friends here. I am so thankful that you are in a peaceful place with all that you are going through. I continue to pray for you and the Rev and yes, for Sadie. God gives us pet to let us have a glimpse of his unconditonal love. I truly believe that. I miss my fur babies who have gone on to live with the Lord.
I’m so glad it blessed you, Sue. That song has always encouraged my heart with hope at times when life is difficult. It sounds like your brother was a wonderful man. I’m sure you miss him. We had a pastor/friend who said, “Isn’t heaven going to great? No more goodbyes!” Our hope is not in vain. His promises last forever!
Thank you so very much for your kind words. They mean so very much to me. I love doing this and when the Lord uses wonderful friends like you to encourage me … it’s an extra special gift for my heart. Thank you for your prayers. They mean so much! Blessings and hugs!
Praying for Rev and Sadie! God grant you all healing and peace, Deb.
Blessings!
Thank you, precious friend! I am thankful for you and blessed by your prayers. Hugs!
And I sooo enjoyed the song you shared with us! I passed it along to my local prayer group and know they will love it and share it others also! The words were so beautiful and touching!
I’m glad you were blessed by it, Kathy! I hadn’t heard it a while and I just love the Lord’s timing it having it on at the exact moment I needed it. Hugs!
Hi Deb!
Thank you for this timely devotion. It is such a great reminder to all of us to remember that we serve a faithful God. Oftentimes life doesn’t flow as we think it should, or in the way that we want it, but it’s imperative to remember that God is sovereign and is with us every step of the way. We have no reason to doubt or fear anyone or anything, and this above all gives us great comfort.
I am praying for Rev and Sadie (the name of our beloved senior dog as well!) and asking God to continue to give you comfort and peace of mind as you live your life in service to Him.
Thank you for your continued service to us as well through this devotional! God bless you
Thank you, Ken! I agree. God doesn’t work according to our plans or schedule. But He is always faithful to do what is best for us as He knows the end from the beginning. It is a wonderful blessing to know that even when His plans don’t align with ours, He is with us guiding and helping. His grace is sufficient. Thank you for your prayers. Sadie dogs are the best. What breed is your Sadie. Ours is a Cavapoo. I truly appreciate your kind words of encouragement. God bless you!
Our Sadie is a Jack Russell, and will be 17 next March! She’s been a blessing to us as I’m sure your Sadie has been to you and your family.
Thanks for responding, Ken! I love the way our pups add laughter to our homes. Enjoy every day with your Sadie! Blessings!
Deb, this is beautiful sweet sister.
Praying for the challenges you are facing.
He is faithful always … ????????
Thank you, Donna! I truly appreciate your encouragement and your prayers. Blessings!
Hello Debbie
Thank you for your words of encouragement, it means so much particularly at this time my mother-in-law is very unwell she is 91 and she is getting more and more sleepy, she is slipping away the nurses say. She loves Jesus so we know we will meet again one day which is wonderful to know. My own Mummy died when I was 19 and I just imagine the two of them dancing away in heaven having such a happy time together, it makes me cry every time but smile too to think of two people I love so much being together. You are so right about it being all that matters, the fact that we love our Lord, knowing we are forgiven, having that sure knowledge that we have an eternal home is amazing, it is the most fantastic thing ever.
Thank you again for all your time I simply love your posts .
Love, hugs and blessings Mary
Thank you, Mary! I am so very glad you are blessed by your visits here. I was struggling a bit yesterday when I left the house to run some errands. As I turned on the radio, Heaven Changes Everything by Big Daddy Weave was playing. Praising the Lord for the awesome blessing of that truth. It is so hard to say even a temporary “good-bye.” But being able to say, “I’ll see you again,” does change everything. God is so good and gracious. I’m praying for you and your family as you go through the days ahead and asking the Lord to give you everything you need. Blessings!
Deb
Thank you , your prayers are really welcomed we will be needing them. Nana Junie , as she is known is the true matriarch of or family, and is deeply loved by all, she has a big heart and many of our church family are very upset also and would value your prayers for them too.
Prayer really does change everything I have seen it happen time and time again, and I praise God for his goodness, and Mercy truly underserved but freely given and oh so welcome.
Thank you again Deb you’re a star . Love, hugs and blessings Mary
Mary, it sounds like you have had many wonderful mentors at your church. I have been blessed with many great mentors as well. They have poured much love into me and encouraged my faith in beautiful ways. What a blessing that the Lord has given us each other to build each other up in His love and in faith. Thank you for your sweet encouragement. God blessings and Big Hugs!