Hows life treating you?

Hows your life been treating you? I hope all is well. In my small little piece of the world my life has been turned upside down and Im trying my best to keep afloat. In my times with God it has been so comforting to know He knows all my hurts and even feels my pain. Its kind of a funny thing because so often we plan our lives out (at least I tried to) and think we are heading which ever way leads to "good" and "prosperous", whatever that may be in the beholders eyes. For one person prosperity may just mean a sense of accomplishment, success in the work place. For others it may just simply mean $$$. As long as the $$ is flowing in then there is prosperity. For someone else, it may be the family unit...husband/wife/kids/mom/dad etc...To them if you have family, you are prosperous...no material things necessary, but are icing on the cake. For another it may mean having just one more day to be with his family before God calls Him home. There is that man or woman far in the jungle of Africa whose children are starving to death and as she ispraying to God for some help to be able to feed her children who are suffering from starvation and malnutrition and here comes a large truck full of food...it is missionaries coming to serve the needs of those people like her and her children. Or for that person who's life is in momentary shambles...his wife left him for another man...He has confidence in that he has God, if nothing else. How about that young man or woman that has their whole life ahead of them and is ready to take on the world? Whatever the case may be, prosperity can only come from one place and that is from God. Just as our l ives are different so is our sense of prosperity---all of us have it, we may just not be able to find it at the moment. One of the things I love about God is that He gives all His children prosperity, its in His nature to be a giver, but we as the rescipent have to be able to see it. Can you find where you are prosperous in your life? Can you even see it? What does it mean to you to be prosperous? Is it in the things you see, or in the unseen, or both? How can we make the lives of others prosper? There is a saying I heard recently is that goes something like this " True prosperity is serving others that there life may be prosperous " That means to give is to be prosperous? Its easy to think of it in terms of being on the receiving end...to be prosperous means to receive...but I beleive God is saying it is to give in order that we may flourish and grow and create room for more. Thats hard to do when you are going thru the trenches yourself. How do you give when you have nothing to give? That my friend is a answer I dont have, only God can answer that. Your best bet is to talk to Him and Im sure Hes got something in mind.

So the next time you are sizing your life up, remember that true prosperity is not in storing up, its in giving up. Its not that God doesnt want us to be in the receiving end at all.. in fact I believe quite the contrary. Hes that kind of God. He just wants us to share, share what we've been given, which creates room for more...more to be given.