Peter 13:12 reads, “A longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”
For the next few days, let’s look at some of our most common desires. Material desires: Lydia was a businesswoman who dealt in textiles (Acts 16:14). She was one of Paul’s first converts to Christianity. Can you imagine what it took for a woman to succeed in business in such a male-dominated society?
She was so successful she owned her own home and it was large enough to become the meeting place for the first church in history of Europe. Of all the religious edifices built over the centuries-Notre Dame, Westminster Abbey, and the Sistine Chapel-the first church was in the home of this businesswoman.
Now, if you desire to make money chokes out your generosity, causes you to live in debt, or creates chronic dissatisfaction, it’s time to re-evaluate what you’re doing. But making money, creating good products, and keeping people employed are God-glorifying things. “It is [God] who gives you power to get wealth” (Deuteronomy 8:18)
Have you ever wondered why you enjoy tinkering with engines or working with your hands? It’s because you were made in the image of a creative God who engineered this unbelievable cosmic machine with forces and energy so transcendently mind-boggling that people devote brilliant scientific careers to understanding even a tiny bit of it.
Whether you’re mechanically or scientifically oriented, it’s spiritual-and it counts! The Bible says, “The Lord….has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant” (Psalms 35:27). And when your desire for material success is to glorify God and bless others, He will help you succeed.
© 2018 CE