The Power to get Wealth

UV 974-10,000 Power to Get Wealth But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. Deuteronomy 8 v 18 In return for all that the Lord does for His chosen,universally chosen by grace and personally chosen by faith, we only need to remember Him in our daily walk. I literally do that every morning first thing even before I drink a glass of water or have a beverage. I walk half an hour and with every step, breath and thought remember the Lord and His goodness to me. I sing praises and give thanksgiving from my heart remembering His goodness and grace. I raise my hands often in worship and acknowledgement of how He led us from one thing to another without us even setting goals, planning or executing anything in that direction, how He saved me from a watery grave, a fiery explosion, from accidents, dangers, conspiracies, controversies, ill health,strife and losses. Recently, in a time of prayer the Lord reminded me that I had come to this city with only a stick in my hand. “The stick” is a metaphor for faith. But the Lord had prospered me. For it is the Lord who gives us the power to get wealth. It is the Lord who multiplies our abilities, our opportunities and our resources. Wealth in scripture is a holistic term like Shallom which means blessing, peace, health, longevity, prosperity, grace, wholesomeness, strength, and joyfulness. In the absence of the Lord’s blessing, in vain does the builder do his work or the police watch over the city. It is the Lord’s intention that His children flourish and that all their legitimate needs and aspirations met. But at the same time, we should not allow wealth to be a snare or temptation that keeps us from remembering the Lord’s goodness. We must never think that it is our power and our ability that has got us this far. Instead, we should think, “ what am I and what is my family that He has brought us this far?” The uni-verse above gives the answer- it is not because of our personal abilities or qualities or our family background but it is because the Lord is faithful to His covenant with our fathers of faith and with us to this very day. It pleases the Lord when we pray daily not for greater wealth but for greater contentment and gratitude for all that He has bestowed us in His grace and mercy. In the prayer, the Lord Jesus taught us it is said, “ lead us not into temptation.” One believer I know puzzled for long over its meaning for how can the Lord lead anyone into temptation. The meaning was revealed to him- it meant that we are to pray that we do not become so wealthy that we are tempted to rely on our riches instead of on the Lord. It is indeed the Lord who gives us the ability to get wealth. But we must not allow wealth to be a snare for our own souls, a barrier for our relationship with the Lord and for our overall spiritual growth. Wealth that is acquired by hasty means develops wings and flies away but when the Lord makes a person wealthy, He adds no sorrows to it. He makes it instead a source of rejoicing and continual thanksgiving. The one who imagines that he has acquired all his vast resources by virtue of his own smartness or ingenuity or hard work is only deluding himself. Such a person is never contented and he strives harder, wearing his soul thin, never contented, never joyful- for as Solomon said, “ it is but a chasing of the wind.” Today, we notice many so called “men of God” making their faith the means to acquire more and more wealth. As they do so, it becomes a snare and a temptation for their souls. A covenant implies that we too remain faithful to our part of the divine agreement and not give vent and free rein to the desire for aggrandisement. Prateep V Philip Remember the power phrases: Remember the Lord, the power to get wealth, covenant that He sware, this day