The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
John 10:10
Most every time the enemy will come to God’s people with half-truths. There’s no deception in a blatant straight-forward lie, but rather in taking something that is true then twisting it.The devil is the master of deception. God does not want us ignorant of satan’s way of operating. This is why it is important for us to know God, His nature and His intent for our lives. Jesus clarifies that for us in this verse, that He has come to give us life to the full, an abundant life. We are partakers of His divine nature through the promises of God.
by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
2 Peter 1:4
Has the enemy tried to get you to believe a half-truth? Make sure to find out what the whole truth is for yourself, communing with His Spirit and getting into the Word of God. There are many half-truths out there today that leave people deceived and stolen from. God wants us to walk in the fullness of His truth.
Alignment with God
Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, In what way have we robbed You? In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this, Says the Lord of hosts, If I will not open for you the windows of heaven. And pour out for you such a blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field, Says the Lord of hosts; And all nations will call you blessed, For you will be a delightful land, Says the Lord of hosts.
Malachi 3:8-12
In this verse we can clearly see the intent of God to bless us in every way. God does not say, Well, you just need to deal with your situation because I’m not planning to help you. No. God challenges His people, telling them that He is intent to pour out blessings beyond imagination both in the spiritual and natural realms of our existence in such a way that others will see His blessing on our lives. Not only that, He is saying in this verse that His people need to come out of alignment with the enemy who steals. If people take on the nature of a thief then they can only expect to be stolen from. Curses are real and blessings are real. God’s plan is for us to be in His blessing. When we give God what is rightfully His, the curse is broken off our lives and His blessing begins to flow in abundance.
Growing in Prosperity
Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him. The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous; for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him.
Genesis 26:12
In this passage we see the process of God’s blessing as we are faithful before Him. Isaac was planted where God wanted Him to be. He sowed into the land that God had given Him with a heart of faithfulness to the Lord. God begins to prosper Him. We have a God of prosperity, not poverty. Poverty is an evil of the worst kind. I always say that if you are so content with your bad condition then why are you trying to make things better if it is not God’s will? The truth is that we are all wanting to prosper. We were created to prosper because we are created in the image of God. We should prosper in our bodies, soul, spirit and in everything we put our hand to because it is innate to our nature and how we have been created. When everything is functioning properly it is the right result. Isaac continued to prosper until he was exceedingly prosperous because His heart was towards and for the Lord’s purposes. Do you want to live in God’s blessing of prosperity?
Take a look at the Hebrew word for evil, ra:
h7451. ra; from 7489; bad or (as noun) evil (natural or moral): adversity, affliction, bad, calamity, +displease, distress, evil, +exceedingly, x great, grief (- vous), harm, heavy, hurt (- ful), ill, mischief (- vous), misery, naught (- ty), noisome, +not please, sad (- ly), sore, sorrow, trouble, vex, wicked (- ly,- ness, one), worse (- st), wretchedness, wrong.
When we look into the Hebrew word for good then prosperity is an integral part that definition:
h2896. ; from 2895; good in the widest sense; used likewise as a noun, both in the masculine and the feminine, the singular and the plural (good, a good or good thing, a good man or woman; the good, also as an adverb (well): beautiful, best, better, bountiful, cheerful, at ease, x fair (word), (be in) favour, fine, glad, good, graciously, joyful, kindly, kindness, liketh (best), loving, merry, x most, pleasant, +pleaseth, pleasure, precious, prosperity, ready, sweet, wealth, welfare, (be) well ((- favoured)).AV (559)- good 361, better 72, well 20, goodness 16, goodly 9, best 8, merry 7, fair 7, prosperity 6, precious 4, fine 3, wealth 3, beautiful 2, fairer 2, favour 2, glad 2, misc 35; adj good, pleasant, agreeable pleasant, agreeable (to the senses) pleasant (to the higher nature) good, excellent (of its kind) good, rich, valuable in estimation good, appropriate, becoming better (comparative) glad, happy, prosperous (of mans sensuous nature) good understanding (of mans intellectual nature) good, kind, benign good, right (ethical) n m a good thing, benefit, welfare welfare, prosperity, happiness good things ( collective) good, benefit moral good n f welfare, benefit, good things welfare, prosperity, happiness good things.
Clearly God wants to bless His people in every way.
Let them shout for joy and be glad, Who favor my righteous cause; And let them say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.
Psalm 35:27
A Covenant of Blessing
Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage. So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them.
Exodus 22:23-24
Have you been groaning? God wants to deliver you from bondage. Through Jesus Christ we are recipients of the blessing of Abraham. Abraham believed God and it was accounted to Him as righteousness. Then God blessed Abraham both in the natural and spiritual realm using the parallel of the sands and the stars. God has called us into that same blessing of life for His purposes and plans. God connected this generation of the children of Israel with the covenant of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They came to a place where they were crying out to God. He heard them and delivered them bringing them out with the plunder of the Egyptians.
While God wants to bless us it is for a purpose. It is not so that we can lavish ourselves in selfish pursuits entering into the same foolishness of the world. When God does something it is always for a purpose. God blesses us to be a blessing. He prospers us for His purposes. Jesus said that you cannot serve both God and mammon (Matt. 6:24). Mammon is the god of money. It is the spirit of materialism, the spirit of the world. God does not want us to be materialistic, but God does want us to prosper. It seems that many have confused these two things because of some apparent abuses. It may be that no one walks this out perfectly because the only perfect man is Jesus Christ. But God does entrust to us, giving us stewardship in all things. As we are faithful with little, He will entrust us with much. Realize that God wants to bless you. It is His nature. It is literally impossible for Him to do anything but bless and prosper because it is an integral part of Who He is. The more we begin to reflect His nature through our choices, actions and thoughts our lives will be meshed with His taking on His divine attributes through the promises of God.
Don’t settle for less than God’s best for you life, realizing that you are created to be a blessed and a blessing to others.