God, Not Man, Makes Us Rich
ICS Daily Devotions

Deuteronomy 8:18 (NKJV) And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

Pride comes easily when we are wealthy and lack nothing because we will think that our power and abilities have gained us our wealth, but God wants us to remember that He is the source of all our wealth.

Firstly, God is the one who gives us life because it is in Him that we live, move, and have our being. He provides us with the ability to breathe, move, and exist. We cannot sustain ourselves with life, even with all the riches in the world. Therefore, believers and unbelievers have no ability or capacity to build wealth without the life that God has granted them. We need to remember that God is good and the giver of life. This reminds us to be humble before Him. Those who are knowledgeable about the Bible and who know God will stay humble in the presence of God and worship Him with their wealth because they are the stewards of His resources.

We have a covenant with God, just like the people of Israel. God fulfils His covenant with the people of Israel by giving them the power to acquire wealth because that is His covenant obligation. Likewise, God provides us with the wisdom, ideas, opportunities, favour with men, skills, gifts, and intellectual abilities to acquire wealth because we are in the New Covenant established through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Genesis 14:21-23 (NKJV) Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, and take the goods for yourself.” But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.'”

Abraham is the forefather of the Jewish people and the first to establish a covenant with God. He witnessed how God had blessed him with all the flocks and herds until he had to part ways with Lot because the land could not support the flocks and herds of both families. Lot’s family went towards Sodom, and God blessed Abraham with the rest of the land.

Abraham forsook all to obey God and refused to turn back during times of trial. He knew and wanted to remember that it was God who had prospered him, not the King of Sodom or the world. Abraham serves as a good example to us because he remained humble despite possessing great wealth, human resources, and connections. He was humble before God and men, as revealed through his speech and actions. God wants us to remember that He is the source of all our wealth, like Abraham did.

Sermon Series: Stay Humble in His Presence