Christian Counseling Service -- Devotions

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Monday, December 17, 2001

Psalm 72:3-4, 7-8, 17
The mountains will bring prosperity to the people,
the hills the fruit of righteousness.
He will defend the afflicted among the people
And save the children of the needy;
He will crush the oppressor...
In his days the righteous will flourish;
Prosperity will abound till the moon is no more.
He will rule from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth...
May his name endure forever;
may it continue as long as the sun.
All nations will be blessed through him,
and they will call him blessed.

Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere. Jesus Christ is born, but the promises of this psalm continue to elude us. So it seems. Oppressors go unpunished, the afflicted suffer and die. Prosperity is fleeting, and all nations are not blessed. The world has many corners that do not seem very blessed. America is rich beyond the wildest dreams of most people of the rest of the world, and even in America there are oppressors, there are the afflicted; the rich and poor live in entirely different cultures.

So I guess this passage is either talking about the future, or it's redefining prosperity. Bruce Wilkinson redefined prosperity in The Prayer of Jabez. To have my "territory enlarged" by my Father doesn't have much to do with more stuff, after all. It's more like getting much better eyeglasses. Like...on a clear day, you can see forever. I can see clearly now, the fog is gone. And when my vision reaches so far, of course the world is bigger, my territory is enlarged. Prosperity follows me; I don't follow it.

In the dark days of the fourth week of Advent, Jesus promises clear sight, visions of sugarplums, open eyes. I can't wait.

Lord, the darkness is getting old. We are waiting for a rebirth of wonder, Lord; let the baby come soon.

Devotions Archive

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Monday, December 17, 2001