But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. But he who … is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. (James 1:22, 25 NKJV)
Some of God’s promised blessings are conditional. This means you have to do something or meet a certain condition to qualify for the expected result. When you meet the conditions, your success is guaranteed; you cannot fail. Other blessings from God are unconditional. For example, His love is always offered to you unconditionally—regardless of who you are or what you do.
While God’s love is always given unconditionally, success is never guaranteed: it is conditional. Although success and prosperity have been promised to all of God’s people, they will not automatically come to pass in your life. You must meet the conditions.
You might say, “Brother Jerry, when you talk about conditions, are you talking about getting back under the Law?”
No, I’m not. But I am telling you that nowhere in the Word of God will you find any statement that even suggests you can do absolutely nothing and expect God to bless you. In fact the Bible says, “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep—so shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, and your need like an armed man” (Proverbs 6:10-11 NKJV).
Although God will sometimes pour out acts of grace in a person’s life, the only way to guarantee success is to learn God’s conditions for success, and then act on them. Here’s the one scripture that gives us insight how to obtain success:
“This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success” (Joshua 1:8 AMP).
Confession: I make a quality decision today to meditate on the Word of God day and night, and to be a doer of the Word, not a hearer only. As I do this, I will become prosperous and have good success in everything I set my hand to do.
Credit for today’s Jerry Savelle daily devotional: jerrysavelle.org
