Salvation first, Success second

UV 595/10,000 Salvation first, Success second. “Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord: O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.” Psalm 118 v 25 As believers, we must first seek the salvation of the Lord. The desire for salvation exists in every individual and nation. People seek it in different ways. But, it is the Lord alone who can provide for the salvation of our souls. We need to give first priority to obtain salvation of our souls. Having obtained salvation by believing in the sacrificial death and glorious resurrection of Jesus the Christ, we can then go on to seek prosperity or success from the Lord. But, unfortunately today the desire for salvation is subordinated to the desire for success. Success becomes the demi-god before whom people in all nations are prepared to make any sacrifice. In fact, salvation will lead to building our character in order to handle success. Most people in history have been destroyed in soul, mind and body by their extraordinary success. In order to obtain success, they had mortgaged their souls. Therefore, we must seek His Kingdom or His rule over our souls and lives through studying and obeying His Word and all things related to success and prosperity will be added in due time to us. The word “ beseech” does not mean that we beg the Lord but that we humble ourselves in faith, acknowledging that we cannot accomplish neither salvation nor success on our own strength. Many people seek salvation by renouncing the world and punishing their bodies. But, the Lord does not desire that we punish ourselves. Instead, He desires that first, our souls are saved followed by blessing us with Shalom or wholeness, blessedness, peace, success, prosperity, health and well being. Success constantly breeds a sense of discontentment. As Henry Ford said, a successful person always wants “ a little more.” Instead, we must be contented with what God has given us and have a divine discontent with the growth of our soul or spirit to maturity. “Prosperity” does not merely imply financial success. It means that the Lord will push forward our plans. He will establish the work of our hands. He will supernaturally bless us with a measure of well being in spirit, mind and body. He will give us peace within and peace all round in our relationships. He will prosper our journey so that we reach our goals or our destination. Our need will be more than met. He will give us breakthroughs in the struggles we face in life. He may not remove the difficulties but He will increase our strength to confront the challenges of life. Our primary need is salvation, our secondary need is success or prosperity. It is like saying, the primary need of our bodies is breathing the air; food and water are the secondary need. When we focus on the first, the Lord will focus on granting us the second. Prateep V Philip