Prosperity

It's one of those nights when I am keenly aware that sleep won't come easy, so I've given into my sleeplessness and decided to write. Please excuse my departure from the typical updates I've been providing as of late, and indulge me as I let my words carry me away to explore deeper thoughts (for those of you that have been following my blog for awhile I guess this won't come as a surprise).

 I'm sitting at the kitchen table with text books and notebooks surrounding me feeling a strange mix of accomplishment and inadequacy from a day committed mostly to studying. My mixed emotions stem perhaps from how I spent my evening.... which entirely consisted of indulging myself in mindless television viewing. A decision I regret for the discontentment it stirred up in my heart.

But ever so lovingly the Lord is intervening in my wandering mind and emotions drawing my attention to a homework assignment (of all things, right? :)) to help me regain focus. This morning I wrote about my spiritual background and the life experiences that have informed it, which is now serving as a reminder of how Christ has intentionally chosen this path for me and how beautiful it has truly been and is even when I fail to recognize it.

Ironically I'm studying the book of Job right now. I say ironically because in the past week I have seen my share of challenges, not that I can in any way compare my misfortunes to Job's sufferings. That's not what I intend to say, but only that it was amusing that I found myself there trying to regain perspective as I struggled to view my own circumstances in a righteous way. In my reading a particular verse struck me:

"Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you." - Job 22:21

Upon processing that it occurred to me that we are not prosperous on account of our circumstance or more specifically a change in our fortune or misfortune. We are prosperous when we submit to God and have peace in the now He is providing us with. If we can accept the present for what it is, recognizing that life is beyond our control or understanding, and choose to live joyfully in the abundance that is there (not that which is lacking) we thrive.

It's like the cliche illustration of children in third world countries who are happy and eager to praise the Lord despite unmet needs and injustice. Why? Because they understand a fundamental truth that the rest of us rarely takes into consideration; all that is good, all that is beautiful, all that is worthwhile is from the Lord and that does not change based on life events. That's constant. So then why do we justify an attitude or behavior that denies this and leads us to hopelessness? We are dismissing the prosperity that is being offered to us because it doesn't fit into our neat definition of the word.

Prosperity doesn't promise perfection. It lends more to tenacity and enduring joy and gratitude for what is given us in grace. It requires surrendering the idealistic view that goodness exists independently of hardship and that success defines our lifestyle instead of the outcomes of our journey. I don't say all this to induce guilt or disappointment. I'll be the first say I've failed in this area. I think I felt most compelled to voice this lesson as a reminder to myself and in hope that in the future this will inform my perspective.