The prosperity gospel has become quite popular in American Evangelical Christian culture. One doesn’t have to look far on social media or in book stores to see what I’m talking about. Sermons, quotes, and books that promise health, wealth, and beauty for followers of Jesus make for a good sale. It also kinda makes me sick. Nowhere in Scripture are we promised an abundance of financial gain and perfect health when we confess Christ!
Because of my strong aversion to the prosperity gospel it’s been a challenge for me to accept that biblical prosperity for the righteous is actually a thing. And yet, over and over in the Psalms and Proverbs we see promises and blessings for those who walk in the way of the Lord.
Case in point: The other night I read Psalm 37, a beautiful psalm about the promise of God to not forsake His own. Initially, I was drawn to the verbs in verses 3-7. I was all about the fact that we need to trust and delight in the Lord, commit to Him, and be still before Him. And in all honestly, that was going to be the focus of this post. But when I read closer I realized I was skipping over the latter part of the verses. I then had to wrestle with my tendency to fight against the true blessings promised to me as a child of God.
Reading that last sentence back, it seems crazy that I wouldn’t readily welcome the good gifts of God. But sometimes we struggle wtih that, don’t we? The love and grace of God can be a hard thing to sit in and accept (so much so that the Apostle Paul prayed for strength to comprehend it Ephesians 3:18-19).* Couple that with my point in the first paragraph and what you get is one giant push back to the idea of a prosperous Christian. And yet, if we claim to follow Christ we have to come to terms with all that’s in His word. And that means holding open hands for His promised blessings. With that in mind, let’s go back to Psalm 37:3-7 to reflect on three of these promises.
He will give us the desires of our hearts. I know what you might be thinking, and not so fast! This verse does not mean God will give us absolutely anything and everything we ever ask for. It’s something far better! When we delight in the Lord- when we look to Him as our ultimate source of joy and satisfaction- we will want the things that are of Him rather than the things that are of the world. For instance, as we enjoy God, we will long to be filled with the fruit of the Spirit and wisdom. I desire these strongly and am so thankful that God promises to give these in abundance to those who ask! Additionally, our Father loves to give His children good gifts- and we can rest assured that as we delight in Him, we will desire (and be given!) whatever good things He has for us!
He will act. While this point and the next go together, I think there is a great deal of comfort in these similiar promises. Sometimes God’s action relates to justice, but there may be other times when His action is about providing for His people: providing comfort, protection, and peace. We also know that God, in His providence, acts to meet both the physical and spiritual needs of His people. We may not always understand His ways, purposes or plans, but as we trust in Him, He will prove Himself faithful to act in our best interests. We can rest assured that our God is a God of action- and He promises to act!
He will bring forth justice. It is so easy to look around the world and feel as though the wicked are winning. If we’re not careful, we can almost believe they’re getting away scot-free. But praise God His word tells us otherwise! We know that nothing escapes God’s eyes and that there will be judgement for the unrighteouss. What a comfort it is to know that any wrongdoing against us (and others!) will be brought to justice “as the noonday.” This beautiful promise for the people of God is rooted in His attributes of goodness and justness. Consider: our God is good because He is just- and He is just because He is good. In this we greatly rejoice!
In these few verses we see but a glimpse of the blessings promised us in Christ- blessings that thankfully, are a far cry from the prosperity gospel. Blessings more beautiful than any false teaching and rich in the only way that matters; blessings that are the very truth of God.
Of course, there are many more to uncover! As I read Scripture, I will be mindful to not so quickly pass these by. Rather, I will be intentional to meditate on these truths and allow the love of our good God to sink into my heart and mind.
And for you. I pray as you read the word you will allow yourself to feel the love and care of your heavenly Father. May you keep open hands for the promised blessings He graciously and generously gives to you, His child.
*For more on this topic, check out my Strength to Comprehend series in the links below:
https://nicolebyrum.com/2023/11/25/strength-to-comprehend-redeemed/ https://nicolebyrum.com/2023/11/30/strength-to-comprehend-adopted/
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