Prosperity is completeness, a wholeness we feel because of only one thing—our relationship with Jesus Christ, which meets all our needs, all the time in every way.

By Troy Schmidt, author of Fish Sandwiches: The Delight of Receiving God’s Promises

Often when someone wants to show you from the Bible how God wants to bless you and give you a prosperous life, people cringe.

“Oh no, here it comes—the prosperity gospel! Hide my wallet!”

Prosperity gospel is a term some use to describe the teaching that the Bible promotes wealth, health, and success in people’s lives. They position God as a Wall Street mogul who sends us investment stocks; a zillionaire in his mansion handing out cash bonuses; a genie granting us all our wishes.

Name it. Claim it. It’s yours. It’s God’s will.

Is it?

The slope can be slippery when it comes to the message of prosperity in the Bible, especially when we read verses like this: “You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours.” (Psalm 128:2 NIV).

Doesn’t God want us to prosper? Yes, but not always with money.

Doesn’t God want us to succeed? Yes, but not always with financial rewards.

Does God want to bless us? Most assuredly, God wants to bless us. We are living examples of a relationship with God, and if we’re all depressed and acting down-and-out, who would want anything to do with God?

“Bless” means to make happy, and if God loves us, then he wants to see his children happy. As a parent, I understand that. I want my children to be happy and I want to bless them, give them gifts, help them along in life. I’m not better than God, so if I want that for my children, then he must want that for us, too.

Blessing is a better term than prosperity because it encompasses a myriad of rewards. But God is not a supernatural vending machine, spitting out blessings if we punch the right code. Blessings in the Bible come with a caveat—obedience.

“All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God.” (Deuteronomy 28:2 NIV).

Once again, same thing for me with my kids. When I see them obedient, the blessings increase. I pull back if there are relational differences and discontent.

When I researched my book Fish Sandwiches: The Delight of Receiving God’s Promises, I was amazed by how Jesus’ compassionate attitude led to the feedings of the 5,000 and 4,000. The people in the wilderness area needed food, and Jesus worked a miracle to feed them. Why?

Because he loved them. They listened to him and sat at his feet, taking in everything he said—that’s called obedience.

Since everything Jesus did reflected a deeper understanding of God’s heart, why did every Gospel writer include these miracles in their writings? I think they wanted to communicate this truth: God sees our needs, he cares, and he wants to provide.

The people who received those delicious fish sandwiches of bread and fish were “satisfied,” a term used in all six accounts of the miracles. Satisfied means complete and fulfilled. They all had enough to eat and felt full and complete.

Is that a blessing? You bet it is. Is that prosperity? To those people famished in the heat and starving for food, that little lunch made them feel like a million bucks.

How about when Jesus stopped the bleeding of a desperate woman in a crowd (Matthew 9:20-22)? Did that woman prosper? She did because she won the health lottery.

Prosperity is not jets and limousines. Prosperity is having the necessities of life. Prosperity is knowing a God who watches over you, loves you and takes care of you—who wants to bless you with a simple thing like a sandwich because he sees what you need.

Prosperity is being healthy, and living another day, but knowing that because Jesus has healed the damaging effects of sin in your life, he will give you eternal life whenever it’s your time to die.

So why wouldn’t I want to share this kind of prosperity with others if it’s shown so readily to me? God’s generosity is meant to cause a chain reaction, starting with me and continuing through me.

Prosperity is completeness, a wholeness we feel because of only one thing—our relationship with Jesus Christ, which meets all our needs, all the time in every way.

What more do we need?

Fish Sandwiches: The Delight of Receiving God’s Promises by Troy Schmidt

We all have this in common: We get hungry. Inevitably, we eventually notice something we lack, and we wonder how we’re going to get our needs met. And then sometimes we notice that someone else has already taken care of our needs. And then sometimes we notice that the One who is taking care of our needs is God. This warm and down-to-earth book invites you to sit in on one of the most miraculous moments of human history, when one Man took a few fish and a couple of loaves of bread and fed an entire village. Meet the Jesus who dares you to ask Him to give you each day your daily bread, who makes promises and keeps them, and who does immeasurably more than you can ask or imagine on a regular basis.

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