“One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.” (Prov. 11:24 NIV)

God’s law is different

God’s “giving-to-receive” law doesn’t make sense from a human point of view; you’d think that the more you give away, the less you’d have. But God’s law about prospering is different than ours! In fact, it’s the very opposite.

You get the same

God’s law of prosperity is based on His law of “what you plant is what you get." It’s the same as seed planting; you get exactly what you plant every time. If you plant corn, you don’t get peas, carrots, or anything else, for that matter. And God doesn’t want you to be deceived about this fact!

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” (Gal. 6:7 NKJV”

You get more

Another great principle about sowing and reaping is that you always get more than you plant. For instance, when you plant one kernel of corn, a plant will grow, containing many rows of corn. It's the same with giving.

“The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” (2 Cor. 9:8 ESV)

Therefore

“Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.” (Prov. 11:25 NIV 

“Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” (Luke 6:38 ESV)

“He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.” (Psalms 91:4-6 NKJV)

The Lord hears and delivers

“When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.” (Psalms 34:17 ESV)

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” (Prov. 18:10 NKJV)

Therefore 

“And call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” (Psalm 50:15 ESV) 

“Then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,” (2 Peter 2:9)

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Rom. 12:2 ESV)

I grew up in a very non-religious environment. My stepfather was a professional gambler, and, as a single parent, he raised my brother David and me according to his lifestyle. I adopted it, including a vocabulary filled with swear words that came naturally to me. In fact, I never even noticed that I was using bad words. But then I received Christ, and that changed my thinking. I still had a swearing habit, but now, each time I said a bad word, I immediately noticed it and worked to weed it out. Over time, my mind was renewed to conform to the will of God and to what was good and acceptable.

“To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Eph. 4:23 ESV)

Therefore

“We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,” (2 Cor. 10:5 ESV)

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:” (Phil. 2:5)

“But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, Slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth.” (Psalm 86:15)

Throughout the Bible, you see many examples of God’s love, mercy, and compassionate character. After mankind had initially turned away from Him and sinned in the garden, He could have responded with rejection, but he did not! Instead, He put into place a great rescue operation, demonstrating His love, great mercy, and incredible compassion toward us. The most famous verse in the Bible, John 3:16, says it well: He loved the world (that's us) so much that He proved it by giving His only Son as the ultimate gift to save us from everlasting destruction and give us life with Him everlasting.

Therefore

“Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” (Micah 7:18-19, NKJV)

“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” (Heb. 11:6 ESV) 

According to the above passage, there are two things that make up the kind of faith that pleases God: 1) believing that He exists, and 2) believing that He rewards those who seek Him. Most people typically find it easy to believe in the existence of a God, but many struggle with the second belief—that He rewards those who seek Him. But when you think about it, it shouldn’t be a stretch; just as parents love to give gifts to their children, God does, too. 

“If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matt. 7:11)

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” (James 1:17 ESV)

Therefore

“Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.” (2 Tim. 4:8 ESV)

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” (Col. 3:23-24 ESV)

“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” (Isa. 26:3 NKJV)

Don’t allow yourself to be afraid or troubled!

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (John 14:27 ESV)

As you live according to God’s principles

“Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble.” (Psalms 119:165 NKJV)

Therefore

“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.” (2 Thes. 3:16 ESV)

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jer. 29:11)

One of the greatest gifts God has given us is hope. That is what his thousands of wonderful promises throughout the Bible are designed to do – inspire hope. It gives us the ability to look at any situation and know that regardless of how it may appear God is going to come through. This is the essence of what hope is.

We have a living hope through Jesus

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” (1 Peter 1:3)

What to do

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” (Heb. 10:13)

“Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.” (Psalm 33:22)

Therefore 

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Rom. 15:13)

“He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.” (Psalms 91:4-6)

Where to run for help

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. (Prov. 18:10 NKJV)

Therefore

“Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; you will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me.” (Psalm 138:7, NKJV)

“God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.” (Psalm 46:1 NKT)

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” (Prov. 29:18)

Without clear vision and imagination people wander aimlessly, lacking direction and purpose. You have to have it!

What is it?

Vision is defined in the dictionary as the act or power of imagination; a mode of seeing or conceiving; and/or unusual discernment or foresight. Vision means seeing things with your imagination. If you think about it, everything you see that is made started with an idea or dream in someone’s mind; they had to imagine it before they could create it.

Michelangelo used creative vision

He famously said: “In every block of marble, I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it.” And on commenting about his incredible statue of David, he said, “I created a vision of David in my mind and simply carved away everything that was not David.” In other words, he saw each completed task in his head before he even started the project he was about to do. After carving a beautiful statue of an angel, he said, “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.” 

“And the Lord answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.” (Habak. 2:2-3)

How to start

Focus your imagination on virtuous and positive aspects of life and direct your thoughts toward things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and praiseworthy. By doing so, your imagination can foster a mindset of positivity and creativity.

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” (Phil. 4:8)

Therefore

“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,” (Eph. 1:17-18 ESV)