How often do you tap into your spiritual resources?
Too often, we think of our ability to do something based on things like how much money, skills, or the education we have and who we know. But in the kingdom of God, there’s so much more available to us. It’s time to accept and utilize your unlimited, God-given spiritual resources.
How would you feel if someone came to your front door and gave you a bag full of diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and sapphires? I know, that doesn’t sound too realistic, does it?
Maybe this sounds a little more plausible. How would you feel if a distant relative unexpectedly left you a million dollars in their will?
What if you were digging a hole in your back yard to plant a tree and found a metal box full of old gold coins?
That first example is pretty far-fetched. But the last two scenarios do actually happen from time to time.
So again, I’ll ask, how would you feel if something like this happened to you? Pretty good, right? You might have enough money to retire or take that vacation you’ve always dreamed of.
How much power do you give to money?
What is it about getting a lot of money unexpectedly, sometimes even just thinking about it, that makes us feel we could do anything we want?
Well, speaking from my own experience, I think it’s because we tend to think of how much money we have, sometimes in a subtle way, sometimes in a very obvious way, as the source of how much happiness we can have in life.
There have been times in my life, when I wouldn’t allow myself to do or buy something, even though I actually could have afforded it, because I had a mindset of limitation. It was based on fear. Fear of not having enough money in the future. It was a quiet, hidden fear and conviction that the amount of money I had determined how I could live my life.
I was really making a little god out of money, thinking it dictated what I could or couldn’t do.
Gradually, over a number of years, God has taught me to trust in Him for all I need instead of how much money is in my bank account.
When you have a lot of money in the bank, assets, and investments, whatever “a lot” means to you, you might think of yourself as rich or wealthy.
True wealth
But is the amount of money you have a true measure of your wealth? Not really.
What is wealth, I mean true wealth? Or to ask it another way, what has value to you? What do you treasure?
Jesus gives us some pretty good advice when he said,
Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. Matthew 6:19-21 NLT
What are the desires of your heart? What do you treasure? Where do you keep this treasure? Is this treasure money and material things or is it how much love you have in your heart and the spiritual qualities you express?
People think having a lot of money makes them rich. It doesn’t. True wealth is how much of God’s love you express in your daily life.
You’ve probably heard about people who win the lottery of millions of dollars and just a year or so later, they are in worse financial shape than before they got all that money. They had a lot of money but they weren’t rich. Because they had no wisdom.
The spiritual resources of wisdom and understanding
When you read the book of Proverbs, you realize that wisdom is the source of true wealth.
Listen as Wisdom calls out!
Hear as understanding raises her voice!
“I call to you, to all of you!
I raise my voice to all people.
Choose my instruction rather than silver,
and knowledge rather than pure gold.
For wisdom is far more valuable than rubies.
Nothing you desire can compare with it.
I have riches and honor,
as well as enduring wealth and justice.
My gifts are better than gold, even the purest gold,
my wages better than sterling silver!
I walk in righteousness,
in paths of justice.
Those who love me inherit wealth.
I will fill their treasuries.” Proverbs 8:1, 4, 10, 11, 18-21 NLT
Getting a more spiritual perspective
All too often people quote that last verse out of context, “Those who love me inherit wealth. I will fill their treasuries,” and think that means the treasure God will give them is material wealth. But that’s not really what this proverb is saying.
True wisdom is more valuable than all material wealth. The riches and treasure that wisdom gives are spiritual: among other things, honor, righteousness and justice mentioned in verses 18 and 20.
What I’m realizing is that we need a more spiritual concept of what riches and true wealth are. It’s not how much money you have but how much wisdom, love, righteousness, obedience, and all God’s other qualities, that you have.
Does that mean we shouldn’t have any money or material possessions? Of course not.
Did Jesus use money?
Although Jesus didn’t exactly have the reputation for having a big bank account, there were people who supported his ministry financially, and he didn’t turn that away.
Jesus began a tour of the nearby towns and villages, preaching and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom of God. He took his twelve disciples with him, along with some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases. Among them were Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons; Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s business manager; Susanna; and many others who were contributing from their own resources to support Jesus and his disciples. Luke 8:1-3 NLT
And think about when Peter brought up the question of paying the Roman tax, Jesus told him to go fishing and that he would find a coin in the mouth of the first fish he caught, and to pay the tax for both of them. (See Matthew 17:27 below)
Jesus was so aware that God would provide everything he needed. In fact, Jesus knew God had already provided everything, that all God’s goodness was always present and available. It’s all summed up in Jesus’s insistence that
the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matthew 4:17 KJV
Jesus’s spiritual resources
Jesus saw the abundance of the kingdom of heaven. And I don’t mean the way some people envision heaven with literal streets of gold and gates of pearl. Heaven is not an abundance of material wealth, but of wisdom, love, grace, justice, peace, wholeness, joy, freedom.
Jesus saw this spiritual abundance so clearly that it appeared in ways people could comprehend it.
Just think of when Jesus fed the 5,000 with a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish. He didn’t need money to get all the food. He didn’t plant wheat to grind into flour to make all that bread. He didn’t go fishing to catch all those fish. He knew that in the kingdom of heaven, God supplies bountifully everything we need.
From the perspective of the human mind, when he fed all those people, it was a miracle: Where did all that food come from?
But from the perspective of the kingdom of heaven at hand, it was spiritually natural because in heaven, God’s children always have everything they need every moment. Jesus saw that so clearly, it was like turning on a light switch in a dark room and then everyone could see what was already present, God’s abundance of good.
Jesus was always looking at things from the perspective of the kingdom of heaven being here and now. And he encourages us to do the same.
Material versus spiritual abundance
Now, some folks have taken Jesus’s words and other passages in the Bible like those verses from Proverbs 8 I just quoted, they take them out of context, and take them to mean that when wisdom is promising us riches and wealth, it means material prosperity, and that this material prosperity is a sign that God’s favor is upon you.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with having material wealth. You may have achieved it through hard work, using your God-given wisdom, and providing goods and services that bless people.
But there are plenty of people pursuing material wealth with very selfish motives and sometimes even wicked intentions to take advantage of people and harm them.
Money, on its own, is not a measure of God’s favor or how much He loves you.
In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus spent quite a bit of time trying to encourage his listeners, and that includes you and me, not to worry about having what we need. He wants us to put first things first.
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Matthew 6:33 NKJV
Instead of handing out enough money to everyone listening that day to buy all the food and clothes they needed, he pointed them to the real answer, the reality that heaven’s abundance is at hand.
Heaven’s spiritual resources are available now
But how can we find the kingdom of God? If we still think it is way off in the future somewhere, we’ll never experience its presence in our day to day lives.
Jesus would not have told us to search for something we couldn’t find. Whatever the problems or challenges you’re facing, whatever your genuine needs are, the answer is in seeking and finding the kingdom of God.
Why? Because, in this kingdom, all good is present. Every solution is present. All God’s glory and abundance is present. Everything you need is already here in the kingdom of heaven.
Why don’t we see this abundance? Because we still think this kingdom comes later, after we die, or after we grow enough spiritually. But the fullness of the God’s kingdom does not depend on what you do, how much you study the Bible, how often you pray, or how much you grow spiritually.
The kingdom of God is here right now in all its glory and fullness. If something is already here, you can’t make it come sooner, delay it, or make it go away. You can either open or close your spiritual eyes to either see it or not.
To the degree you see God’s kingdom here and now, you will see evidence of God meeting all your needs on a daily basis.
The Lord’s Prayer: a guide to our spiritual resources
This is the pattern Jesus gives us in the Lord’s Prayer. He doesn’t start that prayer with telling God what you need, what your problems are, or even asking for anything. The prayer begins with acknowledging we are in relationship with God as our Father, our source, our creator.
The next few lines are all about God’s holy nature, His kingdom, and His will in heaven. And in case you’re ever not quite sure what God’s will is on earth, Jesus says to pray for whatever God’s will is in heaven to be done here on earth. That’s really the same idea from Matthew 6:33 I just quoted, “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
In fact, that’s the next line of the prayer, asking God to give us our daily bread. It’s only after you have a clear sense of God’s glory and kingdom that you can receive what He has to offer you, your daily bread, whether that’s literally food to eat or whatever it may be you need, including daily spiritual nourishment.
Jesus reminds us over and over
But, with all Jesus said, people who came to him often still focused on what their material possessions and circumstances were. Sometimes we do the same thing.
Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” Luke 12:13-15 NIV
Over and over again, Jesus tries to get people to understand the importance of spiritual riches, spiritual treasures.
We need to keep coming back to what Jesus constantly reminds us, to redefine our sense of what wealth and true riches are.
Your spiritual resources
God has given you His love, wisdom, spiritual intuition, creativity, grace, mercy, forgiveness, and so much more. Is there anything or earth more valuable?
These are your spiritual resources, right now. They never fail, expire, get depleted or taken away.
How will you use these resources? How will you invest them in your life and the way you interact with people?
Imagine how you would think and act if you were actually conscious of being 100% filled with God’s love for you and the whole world. What would you do differently?
This doesn’t have to be some far-off-in-the-future scenario. Paul points this out in Ephesians.
For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:14-19 NKJV
The fullness of God
These are the heavenly riches Jesus is talking about: filled with all the fullness of God.
This is not just some prophecy for the future. It is a present possibility, or actually a present reality.
You can’t see it with your eyes. You can’t measure it with your bank account. But when you quit believing what the material world tells you, when you quit defining your wealth by how much money and possessions you have and instead open your eyes, your spiritual vision, to the present reality of the spiritual abundance of heaven, here and now, you will experience a rich and overwhelming abundance of God’s blessings.
Right this moment, you have access to the infinite, spiritual resources of God and His kingdom. You don’t have to create them. You can’t create them. They’re already there. First and foremost, instead of just praying for what you want or think you need, seek this kingdom of God and His righteousness. And God will open your heart and mind to receive all His fullness and glory.
Photo credit: Joshua Tsu
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James Early, the Jesus Mindset Coach, is a Bible teacher, speaker, and podcaster. He conducts Bible workshops online and in person. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by embracing the mindset of Christ in daily life. Contact him here.
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Bible References
Matthew 6:19-21 NLT
19 Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal.
20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.
21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.
Proverbs 8:1, 4, 10, 11, 18-21 NLT
1 Listen as Wisdom calls out!
Hear as understanding raises her voice!
4 “I call to you, to all of you!
I raise my voice to all people.
10 Choose my instruction rather than silver,
and knowledge rather than pure gold.
11 For wisdom is far more valuable than rubies.
Nothing you desire can compare with it.
18 I have riches and honor,
as well as enduring wealth and justice.
19 My gifts are better than gold, even the purest gold,
my wages better than sterling silver!
20 I walk in righteousness,
in paths of justice.
21 Those who love me inherit wealth.
I will fill their treasuries.”
Luke 8:1-3 NLT
1 Jesus began a tour of the nearby towns and villages, preaching and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom of God. He took his twelve disciples with him,
2 along with some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases. Among them were Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons;
3 Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s business manager; Susanna; and many others who were contributing from their own resources to support Jesus and his disciples.
Matthew 17:27 NLT
27 However, we don’t want to offend them, so go down to the lake and throw in a line. Open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you will find a large silver coin. Take it and pay the tax for both of us.
Matthew 4:17 KJV
17 the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Matthew 6:33 NKJV
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Luke 12:13-15 NIV
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?”
15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
Ephesians 3:14-19 NKJV
14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,
17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—
19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
