Why does God give us success?
We can count on one thing. It’s not to enable us to live a life of ease and luxury. It has nothing to do with exquisite automobiles or sprawling McMansions. God gives us success so that when he stirs our spirit, we have the resources to do what he asks of us.
The Biblical book of Ezra opens with the story of the king of Persia. Cyrus was ruler of the known world, with all the fine accoutrements a man of his era could possibly want.
To understand the importance of Ezra’s tale, we need to look at a passage written 300 years earlier. Isaiah 45:3 gives us God’s words to a future Cyrus:
“I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places.”
In The Message translation, these are “buried treasures” and “secret caches of valuables.” God was promising to make Cyrus wealthy beyond all men’s dreams.
Why? Cyrus didn’t recognize God as supreme ruler or as the master of his destiny. Isaiah 45:4-5 goes on to tell that even though Cyrus does not know who God is, God intends to name (make king) and equip (make rich) Cyrus.
Again, why? For our answer, we must turn back to Ezra. The book opens with these words in Ezra 1:1:
“In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord…might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia…”
God lifted up Cyrus and made him an unqualified success for no other reason than he knew Cyrus would do the work of the Lord when God stirred his spirit. Under Cyrus’ rule, the temple at Jerusalem was rebuilt for the glory of the God of all creation.
What about our material success? Where does our money go? Do we drive fine cars but fail to fund the works of the Lord? Is our home the McMansion of McMansions, yet we ignore the destitute living conditions of the needy just outside our gates?
What does God cry out for us to do? We have to remember that he lifts us up so that when he stirs our spirit, we can participate in his ongoing work. If we leave Christ out of our financial picture, we’ve missed the point entirely.
Cyrus was raised up to fund the works of the Lord. We are made successful for the same reason.
We can only live well when we live as Jesus wishes us to live.
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Code: FGO.E.06.15b.vp.esv