Prosperity 101

Scripture:

Psalm 37:3 "Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper".

Observation:

Psalm 37 is a Psalm of David. David understood the Lord and served Him diligently for a lifetime. Here he is at an old age according to verse 25 and he is giving forth wisdom from an older man who has lived a long time and followed the Lord with all his heart. He says in this Psalm, "Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper". These are instructions from a man who has seen God's blessings in a big way. He understood prosperity and lived it out. He came from being a shepherd boy to being a king and here he says how, "trust in the Lord and do good".

Application:

Trusting in the Lord and doing good sounds like a Sunday school answer that David spouted out here, but this is actually a very deep verse and is the Word of the Lord. All of our lives we are taught to trust ourselves, make our own decisions, chart your course, plan your life, control your destiny. We become Christians and God says, "trust Me", and we are uncomfortable because we find it hard to trust anyone. It is difficult to fully trust anyone because we like to maintain control of our lives. Trust really comes down to control. When I give control of my life away, I feel like I am out of control and most of us struggle with that. David had to trust the Lord in battles, at times doing things that made no sense militarily because he trusted the Lord. This verse tells us what happens when we trust and do good. It says we will live in the land and prosper. God knows how to prosper His children. He knows how to take care of His own, but he wants us to trust Him fully and completely so He can prosper us. Everyone wants prosperity, not many want to trust.

Prayer:

Lord, I want to trust You more. I know I like to take care of myself. I talk about faith, but don't trust You to the level I know I should. If You take care of the Lillie's of the field, I know You will take care of me. Teach me to to trust and obey like the old song says, "trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, than to trust and obey". I want my family to prosper and I realize for this to happen I must trust You more. Thank You for washing me in Your Word today!

Jeff